


Adjustments

by nicthetoony359



Series: New Beginnings, Old Monsters [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Broken TARDIS, Early Work, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Gay Companions, Male Thirteenth Doctor, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Though just hints, Though not yet, Written before Jodie Whittaker, ongoing series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-20 11:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11919612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicthetoony359/pseuds/nicthetoony359
Summary: The Doctor had never been particularly skilled at regeneration, often needing a full day to grapple with the trauma that usually follows.Such a shame then he always seems to be needed during his healing period.When a ship filled with reptilian aliens comes to threaten the Earth, a newly regenerated Doctor must cope with fighting an alien invasion, while also keeping a High School Dropout and her friend from harms way. But with only a Sonic Screwdriver and a broken TARDIS at his disposal, can The Doctor stop this menace before it starts?(Note: This is a story that I've already posted on Wattpad, and i intend to post this and its sequels on AO3. Criticism is welcome)





	1. Prologue

It burned

It always burned when it happened, the paradoxical energy of healing and pain seeping through his bones. The golden light flowing trough his limbs and head, the shifting of every single cell in his mind and body, the feeling of a new man emerging from the ashes of the old one.

He hated every moment of it.

The groaning of the TARDIS as it took off soothed the Time Lord to this faces final resting place. ‘Earth’ he thought to himself, a nice place to get situated with this body. Perhaps he would finally have ginge-

BAMM

His thoughts we’re interrupted as the TARDIS shook mid-take off. The man rose, quickly sprinting to the console in the middle of the Time Pods control room. ‘What the hell is goin-‘

The ship was shaken again by another explosion, sending the man within tumbling to the cold metal. He grunted, and rose up once more. The Time Rotor was still rising and falling gently, while the ambient red lighting was flickering wildly out of control.

He went to stabilize his ship, moving towards a control panel, before falling to his knees. Wincing, he saw another bout of golden energy flowing trough his hands, burning through the nerves it would soon be replacing.

Another explosion rocked the TARDIS, further halting its take off procedure. Groaning in pain, the Time Lord steadied himself, slowly forcing himself to stand up while also holding of the regeneration. He clutched the barriers of the console, using them as support for his ascension. Now weakly standing, limping slightly from the pain of both the energy and the concussion from the contact to the metal floor.

He mustered the energy to move his arm and slowly started to manipulate the controls of his ship, flicking levers and pushing buttons, before moving on to another panel and repeating the process. More explosions came and the Time Lord became more and more familiar with the cold floor.

Soon enough, the ship entered the wild road of the Time Vortex, yet the struggle wasn’t over yet.

The attacks had made its number on the TARDIS, the interior was a mess of broken lights and violent fires, burning remains of bookshelves and chalkboards littered the floor, while certain panels of the console had burst into flames.

The Time Rotor was still barely working as one of the lights had already cracked and shut off. The round things had all been destroyed except for a few, and a few bottles we’re scattered around the lower area of the control room.

The ship itself was much less traveling trough the vortex, as it was crashing around in it. Shaking the interior inside with the same force as the explosions, tossing around the contents of the ship around its domed room. 

The man tumbled across the ships floor. Ending up lying down in front of the console, facing the crumbling, domed ceiling. His face and arms completely obscured by the golden energy now flowing wildly from his appendages, his screams we’re drowned out by the sound of rushing, golden light. His dying cells we’re burned and regrown, his eyes shifting colors and his hair turning darker.

After a few more minutes, the ships tumbling became less violent and the shaking almost halted. On that evening, observers of Earths sky may have seen a star streaking trough the majestic void, only that they would be sorely mistaken.

Crashing through earths atmosphere was a burning 1960’s Police Box, spinning wildly. Burning trough the layers of air, the box was set aflame, resembling something of a meteor. Its blue wooden exterior, hiding an impossibly large interior, just as damaged and chaotic as its insides.

Moments later, somewhere in the British Isles, the box appeared in an alleyway. Shifting in and out of reality, becoming more and more solid with every shift. Finally solidifying its burnt body and dimly iluminating the dark alley with its flaming, shattered light.  
Within the box, its pilot stood, ragged and exhausted, clutching a lever with a shaking hand. After a few tense seconds of tired breathing, the man collapsed onto the metal floor.  
The Doctor had just regenerated, and his services would be needed. Sooner, rather than later.


	2. Hello There

There was a small clothes shop in the corner of a London road, it was a moderately sized shop with a black wooden door and two display windows showcasing the products.

A dark blue sign above the door read 'Julies & Co'. The sign itself was painted in shiny, glossy paint. The shop had been open for business since six months ago, and in that time there had only been one employee working there.

Inside the shop was a fairly varied selection of clothing, from shirts and pants, to dresses and gowns. A few hats we're stocked on the shelves and various clothing, from neck wear to jackets, lined the green walls.

At the back of the store was a table and cash register, with a woman manning it. Currently talking into a phone

The woman seemed to be in her early to mid twenties, she had a fairly thin figure and her long, curly, hair was a soft brown. The brunette was wearing her work uniform, consisting of a sleeve length green shirt with a black skirt that stopped at her knees, with leggings underneath and a pair of black shoes.

"So, how's business today, dear?" A somewhat concerned voice spoke from the other end of the call. 

"How it usually is."

"Well that's unfortunate."

Business was slow that day, with only five people entering the shop and only three of them actually buying anything. So, the twenty something was left to her own devices.

"You know dear, you should really start branching out, find some other work. Maybe start selling some of your art." The woman nodded along to the suggestions. "I guess." She said, uncertainty evident in her voice.

" And that friend you seem so close with, i'm sure she would be more than happy to help."

The woman snickered. "Yeah.. thanks Mom. Say hi to Dad for me, okay?" She could practically see the smile on her mothers face. "Okay, dear. Make sure to call us more often!" And then her mother hung up.

She pocketed her phone, breathing in and out, before taking out a sketchbook.

This always served to occupy her attention. A stroke of a pencil, a line becoming a cheek, the curves of a hip, the puff of curly hair on top of a gentle face. The intricate details of an iris, the wrinkles and stretch of fabric. Drawing and redrawing until everything was perfect, then erasing it and redrawing it again.

A few hours and several sketches later, the repetitive sound of pencil scratching against paper was finally starting to get on her nerves. She let out a long, drawn out sigh of boredom. 

"We really should set up some sort of ad for this place." She said with a certain venom in her tongue, which really wasn't directed at anyone in particular.

Her longtime friend, Julie, had offered her a job at the store when it had first opened. She had been incredibly grateful to her friend for the generous offer, but working at a store that barely broke even and had almost no regular customers was starting to become a less than small problem.

She had tried to search for better jobs in her free time, but found none. As such, she was forced to stay working in a store that struggled to stay afloat.

It was near closing hour when the woman looked up from her work, as the door to the clothing store opened to reveal a black haired man entering the store. He seemed a little older than the girl at the cash register, and seemed somewhat lost and confused. The man wore a burned black velvet frock coat, and black jumpers. With a white shirt and blue waist coat. "Well he seems stable." She sarcastically thought to herself.

All of the clothing on his body was either burned, damaged, or torn. His posture seemed to be shaky and his expression looked dazed and nervous. He had fair skin and his eyes we're a calming blue.

The man walked to the cash register, fumbling slightly, as if he had only started walking that day and almost slammed his hand on the desk. He awkwardly eyed the obviously uncomfortable cashier, whom he noticed had a name tag which read 'Maddie'.

"Hum- E-excuse me miss." The man stuttered out. "Oh, T-that's fun-ny. St-stutter-ring" He remarked before smacking his lips. "I ne-ever had th-at pr-problem befo-fore."

Maddie stared blankly at this odd potential customer, but ultimately decided to focus on the customer part of it. "Uh, sir. Are you okay?" She asked him, slightly concerned. "Of course he's not okay." She screamed in her mind. "Those burns and tears don't exactly scream 'Okay'"

"I-im fi-ine mi-iss." He said, spazing out a little. Maddie was about to say something, before he raised a finger at the cashier, inhaling in air and holding for a moment, before releasing his breath and smiling a little.

He lowered his hands. "Ah.. Much better, just had to adjust the new mouth." This odd man stated with a much too casual tone. "Oh great." Maddie thought. "What have i gotten myself into?"

The two just looked at each other for a few seconds before Maddie broke the silence. "Um.. do you need anything sir?" She said with a hint of sarcasm. The man smiled a little sheepishly. "Um, yes, of course." He looked around the shop. "Do you have any coats or anything, a hat maybe?" He looked up and shook his head a little. "No, absolutely not, i'm over those." He said with a little frown.

"Right." The Cashier responded slowly. Maddie was feeling a bit cautious about this guy, nonetheless, she stood up from her chair. "I think we have a few coats lying around here." There was actually an over abundance of coats lying around, considering how little they've sold.

She lead him over to a clothes hanger to the right side of the shop, which had a meager selection of coats with varying colors and design.

The man almost stumbled as he made his ways to the hanger, picking trough the selections, attentively looking at the details and rubbing the fabric. Then, without warning, he started to toss away the ones he seemingly didn't like.

Maddie dodged a few incoming articles, shooting a confused and furious look at the man. "What do you think your doing!?" She demanded, and received a neutral expression in return. The man was holding a black pea coat in his hand. "What do you think?" He said nonchalantly.

Maddie was at a loss for words at this mans behavior, her face turned furious. "Why we're you tossing them around!?" She said with an exasperated tone. The man merely shrugged and took of his frock coat, quickly putting on the new pea coat. He stood up, adjusting the collar. "Doesn't really answer my question, but personally, i quite like it." He said with a smile.

Her hand was curling up into a fist. She was resisting every urge in her body to punch this guy. "Sir, i'm going to have to ask you to clean those up."

The man twirled around in place before registering Maddies words, to which he offered a sheepish smile. "Of course, I'll clean these up, pay for your troubles, , and i'll be on my way." He folded up his frock coat into a pocket. "Do you have any trousers?"

He did eventually tidy up the coats (and the trousers, which he also tossed around), Unfortunately he did it with the effectiveness and attentiveness of a penguin with its arse on fire. He seemed somewhat embarrassed at his lack of coordination, yet also seemed to be in too much of a hurry to care.

Eventually, they we're back at the cash register, with the man now dressed in his new pea coat and a pair of light grey trousers, s seemingly perplexed on how to pay the bill. "Oh dear, the math part of the brain isn't quite sorted yet." Maddie wanted to question this man, but opted to simply roll her eyes, she had never been more eager to close up shop.

He finally managed to sort out his money and bid farewell to the agitated cashier

Just as he started to walk out the door, the man hesitated, looking back to the woman behind him. "Maddie." He said, uttering her name for the first time, speaking with weigth and seriousness in his voice. She tensed up. "Be careful tonight." The man said simply

Maddie raised an eyebrow curiously at the odd mans warning, or was it a threat? Just as he was about to exit the store, Maddie stood. "Hey!" She shouted, stopping the man. "What exactly do you mean by that!?" The man looked back at the girl. "And who exactly are..."

Then he saw the mans eyes, Maddie hesitated a bit to ask the question. Those eyes.. There was something about them that made Maddie feel on edge. There was no sign of anger or nervousness in those eyes, no.. it was something else. She couldn't quite place what that something was, those soft blue eyes seemed icy and firey at the same time. Kind yet weary, and something mysterious, burried deeper in the back of his mind.

"W-Who exactly are you?" She finally spoke the question.

The man flashed a smile, for a moment, it almost seemed like a sad smile. He looked to ground first, seemingly contemplating the answer he was about to give. "I'm.." He started slowly, before looking back to Maddie. "The Doctor." He said with a small smile. With that, he turned heel and walked off to wherever he came from.

Maddie stood there for a moment, before limping back to her chair. Those short moments with the 'Doctor' fellow somehow left her exhausted.

She looked around the store, while the man had 'tidied up' the clothes he threw around, he was rather quick about it and ended up mucking about with the clothes more than he did tidy them up.

Maddie sighed, she was going to have to close up in a few minutes. As she was organizing the shelves and racks, cleaning up after 'The Doctors' mess she couldn't help but wonder where that strange man with the black peacoat had gone and where he came from.

Unfortunately, she would soon find out.


	3. Run

The lock on the door snapped shut as Maddie pocketed the keys away, looking over the shop for a moment before striding away to the sidewalk. The dimly lit street was eerily quiet and the moon was shining down on the city in crescent form.

Maddie looked around the empty road and saw no activity from anywhere, the buildings seemed dark and empty, and the whole area seemed completely abandoned.

The woman stood nervously at the concrete sidewalk. The cold air blew around her, sending strewn about papers and trash flying trough the air. "Well this isn't ominous.." Maddie mumbled trough herself. The scene felt like something out of an eighties horror movies.

The sound of the breeze and the rustling of the trees we're the only thing to break the silence of the night, oddly adding to the unsettling nature of the situation Maddie found herself in.

"Where is everyone?" She said, somewhat alarmed. Yes, it was closing hour, but there should definitely be someone walking around the shops or at least a few drunkards wandering about, laughing about whatever inane thought they screamed out of they're mouths.

"Great, i'm starting to miss the drunks." She mumbled, deadpan. Her legs started to shuffle awkwardly, looking about the area once again to see if something, anything had decided to show up.

After a about fifteen minutes, it seemed clear that nothing would.

Maddie sighed, deciding to make the twenty minute trek back to her flat. She checked the clock on her phone '07:00 PM', Emily would've already been home from when she got back there, maybe already making the bed or brewing some of that mint tea they both liked that much.

She smiled a little, Emily was a college student around Maddies age, who unlike Maddie, was still actively pursuing her higher education. they had been living together for about five months and the two had gotten along wonderfully. Emily was a kind and somewhat shy girl who was rather brilliant despite the fact that she never seemed to considered herself as such.

Her pace picked up slightly, getting somewhat used to the quiet and eery feel of the situation. The quiet feeling, actually became somewhat peaceful and calming for the young brunette. After the eccentric 'Doctor' person came to the store, it was rather nice to have a tranquil environment around her.

"Is this one of them?" A quiet, distorted sound came along. Sounding almost snake-like.

Maddie froze in her tracks, the Doctors warning flaring back in her mind. Her breathing quickened, and her heart started beating faster. Maddies brain scrambling to choose between fight or flight.

She eventually convinced herself to look back at the possible attacker, only to find absolutely nothing and no one behind her. Maddie was starting to steady herself when another voice came from seemingly nowhere.

"She definitely seem like one." Another, seemingly more feminine voice said. "And she's definitely had contact with him."

"Contact?" Maddie thought to herself. "With who?" She looked around for any hope that it was some kids who we're hiding around in one of the buildings, using some weird voice changing app to scare some unwitting victims, though her heart sank when she saw none.

"Perhaps we could just ask her?" The first voice replied to the second one. "Hey! Earthling! Are you friends with him?"

Maddie's mind started racing for answers to whoever this person was talking about. Considering the fact that she had no recent contact aside from one person, it didn't take long for her to assume who they we're talking about. Still, she had to make sure, this might still be some sort off elaborate prank. "Who's him?" She asked to the voices.

"The Doctor.." A third, much more aggressive voice boomed. Maddie shuffled back slightly.

"What do you know about The Doctor?" The voice continued, seemingly silencing the other voices. "Speak now, or you shall be silenced!" The feminine voice jumped in at this point. "Saev!" She said, seemingly annoyed by the third voice. "Agreed." The first voice said, backing up the second one.

The first voice almost roared in response to the other too. "No matter! If this earthling fears us, there is no need to conceal ourselves!"

The blood from Maddies face drained away as an armored humanoid revealed itself where there was previously nothing. It's face face hidden by the black helmet it wore which had a red visor in place of its eyes and some sort of breathing apparatus in place of its mouth. The rest of it's body was protected by intricate armoring, with several compartments holding several weapons.

Two more figures de-cloaked behind and beside Maddie respectively, with all three drawing futuristic rifles and aiming them at the now terrified woman.

Maddie froze, sweat now pouring from her forehead, her legs trembling and her arms twitching. Her eyes darting around, searching for an escape plan that wouldn't end with her lying dead on the sidewalk.

"Now." The one who appeared to be Saev spoke first. "Where is The Doctor?" He asked the question with increasing venom in his voice.

"I-i" Maddie stuttered out, trying to find words in her jumbled and panicking mind. Apparently the stutter wasn't enough for this Saev, made clear as he took a step towards the woman and cocking his rifle. "Speak." The creature said with the authority of a military leader, despite his snake-like voice

Maddie took another step back, throwing her arm in front of her chest in a futile attempt to shield herself. Her heart was beating at a thousand miles an hour and her breathing was getting increasingly faster. "I-i don't know!" The brunette yelled almost desperately at the armored creature.

"Where. Is. The. Doctor?" Saev asked once again, putting increasing emphasis on every word. His clawed finger was clutching the trigger, sending Maddie in a panicked backwards frenzy to the ground.

The woman was on the ground, surrounded by three armored figures with weapons pointed at her. "Really?" She thought to herself. "This is how i go?" Maddie never expected her death to be some grand event, but she had hoped it wasn't her being murdered and helpless. She attempted, one more time to convince them of the truth. "I-i d-don't k-kno-"

"Hello there!" A familiar sounding voice interrupted Maddie, catching the attention of all parties involved. They turned to see that eccentric man from the store standing confidently at the other side of the road, a pleasant smile on his face and an odd metallic object in his hands. "I'm The Doctor, not quite sure how you managed to miss me."

The three armored creatures scrambled and took aim at The Doctor, yet we're only greeted by a bemused and somewhat annoyed expression. "Oh yes, guns! Forgive me but i personally never understood the appeal of those little things." Two of the attackers seemed somewhat perplexed by the mans behavior, while the aggressive one took a careful step forward.

Saev yelled through his helmet. "Stand down Doctor!" He attempted a threatening tone, but the man in front of him couldn't help but notice an almost undetectable quiver in his voice. The Doctor frowned slightly. "Stand down? What do you mean by "Stand Down'?" He gestured to himself. "I have no weapons, no armor, no little guns. So forgive my ignorance sir, what do you mean by stand down?"

The armored man staring down The Doctor seemingly paused for a minute, whether out of confusion or contemplation was unclear, before speaking as if to clarify.

"Surrender yourself to the Anguia, along with your time capsule and Sonic Probe." The Doctors frowned deepened. "And if i refuse your kind offer?" He replied, half threatening. Saev gestured his weapon to the terrified woman behind him. "The Earthling dies."

The Doctor adjusted his head to take a look at Maddie, only know registering the fear in her eyes and the intensity of her breathing. Furrowing his eyebrows, he looked back at Saev. "Oh, that is a problem." He said dryly, pacing and turning his attention away from the mans concealed face. "I rather enjoy having a TARDIS and Sonic Screwdriver, however i also enjoy not having anyone die." He stopped pacing at the last word. He turned back to Saev, with a look that made the armored man feel a chill run down his spine. "So how about we make a compromise gentlemen?" He said, in a way that sounded more like a demand than an offer. "I get to keep my belongings-" He turned back, while flourishing the small metallic rod."- and i take the girl of your hands."

Before anyone could react, a buzzing could be heard from the rod, followed by the spontaneous combustion of the groups weapons.The explosions was small enough to not be dangerous, but bright enough to stagger and blind the armored group, giving The Doctor an opportunity he used to rush towards the woman at the center. Pushing Saev to the ground, he grabbed Maddies arm, pulling her up.

"Run." The man said simply, before dragging her away from her attackers. The woman shook of the shock of the attack. The adrenaline was kicking in, her legs we're running almost subconsciously, blood pumping trough her veins.

They reached a four way, deciding to make a right turn, they continued they're DASH for survival. Maddie dared to look back, her eyes widened as the three that had ambushed her we're accompanied by a squadron of other armored humanoids approaching from a distance, all with rifles in tow.

The Doctor seemed to notice the armed group approaching them as well, he yanked the woman towards an electronic store in front of them. They stopped for a moment in front of the door, alarming the increasingly terrified woman.

"What do you think your doing!?" Maddie yelled at The Doctor, she did not want to die tonight because of some mad mans antics. The Doctor raised his metallic rod at the keyhole, he pushed a button, causing a high-pitched noise to emit from the device.

A clicking noise could be heard. The Doctor smirked, opening the door and striding in with a bewildered Maddie following behind.

He let go of her arm, and focused his attention back on the door. Maddie turned away from the man, all blood drained from her face and her adrenaline rush was slowly subsiding. The woman put a hand over her chest, feeling her heart beating faster than she had felt in her entire life.

The Doctor pulled away from the door and diverted his attention back to the trembling brunette. He carefully approached the woman, putting an assuring hand on her shoulder. They met each others eyes, her terrified red eyes meeting his calming blue ones.

"You okay?" The Doctor asked in an effort to steady the woman, obviously knowing the answer. Maddies breathing slowed slightly, finding his eyes oddly calming. She took a nice long breath, before giving a quick nod.

The Doctor smiled at her. "Good ." he said simply. "You wouldn't be much help hyperventilating."

He pulled his hand away from her shoulder, but didn't move away from Maddie. The Doctor looked back at the door, seeing if any of the attackers had reached them. The sound of loud footsteps alerted both of them to the oncoming threat.

The Doctor and Maddie exchanged varying looks of worry and fear. The man gestured to a door at the back of the shop, most likely being the storage room or the basement. Maddie got the message and gave a quick nod.

The man rushed to the door, quickly manipulating it with his metallic rod and unlocking it after a high pitched noise was emitted. He ran into the room, quickly followed by Maddie. The room beyond the door was a storage area that housed dozens of boxes, within them we're likely computers, laptops, phones and they're respective accessories.

They rushed trough most of them, with the Doctor stopping for a moment and tearing open a box before grabbing a laptop and stealing it, bewildering Maddie, yet not enough to actually question the man. Quickly resuming they're run, Maddie spotted another door at the other side of the room.

After getting a little closer to it, The Doctor used his metallic tool to unlock the door and burst through it.

They stopped for a moment afterward, or more accurately The Doctor did and Maddie was forced to stop with him or be killed. The man pointed the device in his hand at the storage room, activating the device and causing several high pitched buzzes from some of the devices.

The Doctor smiled happily at the confused and slightly irritated woman, before running away from the store and leaving Maddie to catch up with him. She did manage to catch up to him and with heaving breaths asked. "So uh.. what did you actually do?"

His smile grew a little wider when a deafening buzz boomed from the store, simultaneously followed by pained screams. "Sonic Screwdriver." He casually said over the noise. "Works wonders." Though to Maddie it sounded more like unintelligible gibberish due to the ringing in her ears.

The ringing subsided after a moment, enough so that Maddie heard the next thing The Doctor said. "So where do you live exactly?"

Maddie actually had to ring her head a little for the answer. Her thoughts had been preoccupied with her possible death, so it was still a little clustered. "I-it's a little ways ahead of us."

The Doctor turned to the brunette and nodded. "Well then, lead the way Maddie!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the story starts to pick up, so stay tuned


	4. Confusing Explanations

Maddies breathing was ragged and tired by the time they arrived at the flat, while The Doctor was still smiling and energetic, seemingly more so than before, and still clutching that Laptop he stole.

They barged into the building, ignoring the perplexed stare from the caretaker. The two ran several floors worth of stairs, with Maddie struggling to keep up with The Doctors unnatural fast pace, as if he had been running in situations like this on the regular.

They slowed down a little on the womans floor, with The Doctor turning back to Maddie while walking backwards. "Where's yours?" He asked her. "i'll need to know where to drop you off."

'Drop her off' The words struck Maddie just a little more than they should have. She was glad to be safe from whatever those people we're, but she wasn't just going to let this whole thing drop and pretend like invisible armored soldiers didn't just try to murder her. At the very least, she would get some answers to the question that we're now swimming to the surface of her mind.

She decided to ask those questions later however, preffering to not be out of breath when doing so. "Its that one." She pointed to a white door labeled '3F'

He nodded, stopping in front of it and pulling out the metallic device ('Screwdriver' Maddie remembered) and unlocked the door with it, another question she would have to ask him. "Actually." She started to think to herself. "This guy with an all powerfull lock pick may be the most terrifying thing i've encountered today.

The Doctor strided into the studio flat and jumped onto the sofa, startling Maddies drowsy looking roommate.

The flat was a decently sized one, lights off and drenched in the moonlight, with people entering greeted by fake wooden flooring and a shoe rack with only two shoes on it. The Doctor was currently running his screwdriver over the (stolen) laptop on top of a brown sofa in the center of the room with a small television in front of him. To the side was a decently sized kitchen, with a small fridge and stove within it. The scent of half brewed mint tea wafted trough the small area, with its brewer currently focusing her attention on the stranger now sitting on her sofa.

Emily's messy blonde hair partially covered her tired face. She was wearing a white sleeve lenght shirt, and blue calf lenght jeans. She turned to her roommate, who had now noticed faint tear tracks on the blondes face.

She wanted to ask her friend what was wrong, desperately so, but for now she had other matters to attend to.

Maddie marched up to The Doctor, whom was currently typing away at the keyboard at an unnaturally quick pace, opening and closing windows with green text over them, resembling something of those hacking scenes in movies. "Hey!" Maddie said in an attempt to gain The Doctors attention, though to little success.

"You have some explaining to do Doctor." This caught his attention.

He turned to her with a smile. "Ah.. yes, the answering questions part." The Doctor said biting his lip. "Not a terribly fun part, but important i suppo-" He was inturrupted as his body reeled back, before relaxing and allowing a wisp of bright golden energy to course trough his body. He patted his chest. "Terribly sorry, i do think this body is still adjusting."

Maddie turned and exchanged perplexed looks with her roomamate, before shaking her head and focusing her attention back on The Doctor. The man himself was back to typing at the keyboard. "Go on. Ask away." He said simply.

Maddie sighed, she contemplated her question for a good second, before simply electing to ask the obvious one. "Who.. are you?" The man didn't look up from the laptop. "Already told you, The Doctor"

"Okay.." The brunnete drew out the word, while rolling her eyes. "But whats your name? It can't seriously be 'The Doctor'" He eyed her for a moment. "Can it?"

The Doctor let out a small chuckle. "i suppose it is a rather odd name." He admitted. "but its the name i'm known for, and the only name you'll need to know me by."

Maddie threw up her eyebrows at the statement, deciding to let it slide for now, she had more important questions for him. "Okay, what about those people that attacked me?" The Doctor mulled over the answer for a moment, seemingly thinking about how to broach it. "Hmm, i don't think you would believe me if i told you."

The brunnete rolled her eyes. "Try me." She said simply. The mans expression was somewhat serious as he turned to Maddie. "They are The Anguia." He started to explain. "Or at least a faction of them." The Doctor clarified. "The Anguia are a race of reptilian humanoids with an intergalatic reach that spans beyond they're planet." He paused for a minute to gauge the two womens baffled expressions. "They have one of the strongest military and economic forces in they're galactic sector."

The silence that filled the room after this statement was deafening, baffled stares locking themselves on The Doctor.

It was Maddie who spoke up to fill the silence. "You.." She started. "Are insane."

"I thought it was obvious." The Doctor replied with a smile. He returned his attention to the laptop, continuing to type with the same pace he had typed in before, leaving the room back in the awkward silence that had filled it before.

Maddie was having trouble processing this new information that had been presented to her by this self confessed madman. An intergalactic race of reptilian humanoids? That would explain the futuristic looking technology, but what would a group like that want with an ordinary store clerk like her? And where did all the other people in the shops go? And why did this guy supposedly know this kind of stuff?

"And why would they be searching for someone like you?" Maddie finally asked.

She didn't get an answer however as the man finished searching up whatever it is he was searching. He grinned and shut the laptop abruptly, he shot up with his laptop in his hands and a spirit in his step. The Doctor walked towards the door seemingly ignoring Maddies objection.

He opened the door, before looking back at the woman. "Be on the look out, if an Anguia comes along, hit it with something titanium." And with that he was gone, before slamming the door.

Maddie stared at the closed door with a blank stare, confused as how to behave with this new information. Confused at how to react to the idea that aliens may be hunting her for whatever reason, and now her one source of information had just walked out of the door.

"Uh.. Maddie?"

She was pushed out of her thoughts, turning to see that Emily was standing meekly behind her. Her tear tracks had grown fainter, but they we're still slightly visible in the soft blue glow of the night. The brunette felt somewhat guilty for not attending to her friend earlier, it really wasn't her fault, but she still felt at fault.

"Wh- who was he?" The blonde tentatively asked her roommate. Maddie didn't really know how to respond to that question, she didn't really know the full story herself, and so she was simply left to look at Emily with a tired sigh.

"I-i don't really know." She told her instead. Maddie fully turned to face Emily, meeting her friends eyes and holding her by the shoulders. "What i do know.." Maddie started "Is that something is obviously bothering you."

Emily frantically shook her head . "N-no, i'm fine." She said, trying in vain to cover for the croak in her voice. Maddie smirked, brushing away the blonde hair covering Emily's left eye. "Emily, you're great at a lot of things, but lying is not one of them."

Emily simply continued shaking her head. "Really, i'm fine." she put a finger on Maddies chest. "I should be the one worrying over you! You come home late at night bursting trough the door, following some crazy bloke talking about aliens. Your out of breath, what exactly happened?"

Maddie debated on whether or not to tell her the truth. On one hand, Emily probably wouldn't stop asking if she didn't answer. On the other hand, if she actually told her the truth, she would probably think she was some sort of lunatic.

"I-i was mugged by some guys on the street." She lied trough her teeth, technically it wasn't untrue, What she just experienced could possibly be considered mugging. "And then that guy came along and helped me."

Her roommate seemed both alarmed, yet skeptical. "Then why was he talking about aliens and stuff." Maddie looked around the room, trying to avoid Emily' gaze. "He's a.. conspiracy nut. Thought those guys we're reptiles or something like that."

Emily still seemed skeptical. "O-okay.." She looked her over. "Well.. i'm glad your not hurt."

"Now." Maddie said, trying to change the subject. "What's going on with you?" Emily tried to hide something behind her little smile . "No. Really, it's not important. I really am just glad your safe right now." Maddie brushed her hand against the blondes cheek, feeling the dampness that still resided on them. "Then why we're you crying?" She asked her, deeply concerned.

There wasn't an answer from Emily.

Maddie frowned. "Come on." She tried to broach the reply from her. "You can tell me."

Emily pulled away from her friends hold. "I-i'm sorry." She looked down. "I just, don't want to talk about it." Maddie sighed, putting up a little smile. "Okay. But if you want to talk about it.." Emily smiled back. "Thanks. I'm sorry i can't talk about it. It's just-" She was stopped by a comforting hand taking her own. "It's fine. The offer still stands though."

Maddies hand felt warm and comfortable, her voice sounded soothing and her eyes offered a calming refuge. "No." Emily screamed in her mind. "Stop thinking about that. You can't think about that." Another voice screamed out in protest. "But that's how you feel right?"

"Uhm, you still want that tea?" Maddie snapped her out of her thoughts. Emily could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. "Uh, yeah. Hold on, let me get that." She rushed over to the counter, while Maddie wen't to sit down on the couch. The blonde continued stirring the minty concoction. 

The clinking and clanking of metal against glass was the only sound that filled the awkward silence that followed. Maddie nervously tapped her foot on the floor, still confused on how to feel about what just happened to her. Her hands felt fidgety, her body felt shaky and her eyes darted around. "Maddie? You seem nervous." Emily called out to her friend. "No, i'm fine." Maddie said, finding more success in hiding her doubt. Emily shook her head, sitting down on the couch with two cups of tea in her hands. "Oh no, now it's my turn. Come on, tell me." She said, placing the cups down on the table.

Maddie smiled. Feeling the tension in her body lessening. "Okay-okay. I guess i'm just still a little shaken by that whole 'mugging' thing." She was, just not by the 'mugging'. 

"Don't worry, i'm sure i would be pretty shaken too." Emily said in an attempt to be reassuring. "Besides, your looking much better now." Maddie reached for her cup, taking a small sip of it. "Well your here, that certainly helps." If the room was lit by anything other than moonlight, she probably would've noticed the slight red tint on her face.

They sat there in silence for some time, occasionally, Maddie would ask Emily about classes and Emily would ask her about her work in return. But for the most part, they simply enjoyed each others presence. "So.." Maddie said, trying to think of topics, while also trying to avoid the topic she actually wanted to talk about. "..How are your parents?" Emily didn't respond, and instead opted to focus all of her attention on the almost empty cup of tea. "Uh, Emily?" Maddie asked her, a little concerned over her silence.

"Oh, they're fine. they're actually on.. vacation right now." Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Emily nodded, placing her now empty cup back on the table. "I'm gonna be turning in for the night, okay." She said hastily before rushing towards the bedroom.

And so, Maddie was alone on the couch, left with nothing but her thoughts and her half empty tea cup. She set the beverage down, without Emily to distract her, she could now feel the fatigue in her body. Tired, that's what she felt, too tired to even stand up and join Emily on they're bunk bed. '22:07' A clock near her showed. "The couch is alright.." Maddie decided, laying herself down on cushions. By tomorrow morning, this whole thing will have been a curious dream.

It took a while, but eventually, she fell asleep.

 

A crack. A bump in the night.

That was all that Maddie heard before cool metal was clasped over her mouth, her alarmed screams muffled by what felt like an armored hand. She tried to pull away, but found that her torso was held back by a death grip.

She flailed her legs out of panic, not sure how to respond to the unnaturally strong individual that was holding her. Maddie squirmed at the strangers hostile touch, trashing wildly in an attempt to break free, but to no avail.

Despite this, she still continued to try with increasing aggressiveness, as the stranger picked her up from the sofa. Maddie flinched, feeling a small shock on her neck before losing all the feeling in her body. She attempted to continue her trashing, but found that her limbs wouldn't respond to her minds orders.

Maddie tried to scream, tried to call out, but her mouth refused to move. A sinking feeling in her stomach came about when she managed to take a peek at Emily' body tossed over another armored strangers shoulder, screaming out for her friend in her mind, but not being able to voice it, much to her distress.

The pair of armored strangers strode out of the room with the two woman in tow. Maddie found that she could still somewhat move her eyes, darting them around the unlit corridor. It was empty, except for the two kidnappers and they're victims.

After a few minutes of silent walking, they exited the building, being met by the cold breeze of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote half of this chapter, and while i'm still not too happy with it, i think it's okay.  
> The plot thickens..


	5. Infiltration

The Doctor was in over his head.

He hid within a small storage room, avoiding the patrol of Anguia that wandered the halls of they're base, armed with plasma rifles and protected by armor impregnable by 21st century human weapons. He didn't really have anything to worry about while still in his post regenaration state, being able to comfortably heal from most damage. Still, he could do without a searing hole in his chest.

He peeked out of the door and looked around, seeing no troops, to his relief. The man cautiously exited the storage room, he withdrew his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, checking the readings. The Doctors eyes furrowed. Returning his screwdriver to its place, he walked towards the source of the signal, his footsteps echoing trough the metal halls.

The Anguias 'base' was actually just a military ship, hovering in stealth mode over the town. Finding it was easy enough, all it took to find it was reprogramming the laptop he stole and running scans of the area for any peculiar energy signals. Then all that was left was to use the still heavily damaged TARDIS console to transmat him on board. (After much coaxing to The TARDIS)

It seemed to be a rather large ship. With endless corridors and dozens of rooms filling the interior, patroled by pairs of Anguia soldiers that he barely managed to avoid using wit, cunning, and a hint of luck (Okay, it was mostly luck). The walls were lit by white circular fixtures on the wall, giving the whole ship a very sterile feel.

"Ugh, its as if i'm in a hospital." The Doctor mumbled to himself, displeased with the bland look of the ship he was infiltrating. "Can't they at least try for something more.. interesting. I'm surprised they're patrols don't fall asleep from boredom."

The Doctor sighed, he needed to focus on the task at hand. He was searching for the ships central terminal, hoping to find information on what these Anguia were planning to do on this world, and hopefully to find out where the missing residents were.

The Time Lord arrived at a T-Junction, perking up when he heard clanking footsteps approaching from the right. He scrambled away from the oncoming pair, searching frantically for a place to hide, some sort of room or an indent in the wall to slide into.

The latter was what he had to work with, sliding into an indent, praying to whatever deity existed that he would get unnaturally lucky again. He remained as still as was physically possible for him, holding his breath and forcing his shuffling feet to stay still (another quirk this new body seemed to have.) The two Anguia we're rapidly approaching, and The Doctor was feeling very much like he wanted to run away.

He didn't know how, nor did he really care, but he actually managed to past the patrols radar.

When the footsteps had faded out of his hearing, The Doctor slid out of his hiding place, breathing a short sigh of relief as he did so. He wondered briefly how the leading experts in stealth and deception managed to fall for a simple trick (if you could call it that) like the one he just pulled.

"Nevermind." He thought to himself. "I'll eventually find out." The Doctor ran, trying to conceal his footsteps while also trying to go as fast as he can, which wasn't exactly easy. His head dotted around the corridors, searching for anything that would lead him to his destination. Using the screwdriver was risky, the noise might draw some unwanted attention.

Eventually, he did come across something. The Doctor looked up and saw a holographic signwritten in the language of the Anguia. 'Holding Cell ->' The sign read,peeking the mans interest. "Holding Cell?" He wondered aloud. "What could they.." The Doctor trailed off. His face turned slightly grim as the pieces clicked in his head. "I should probably see if they're okay." 

 

Maddie struggled in her seat, or at least she would, if she had the ability to move her body.

The young woman was strapped down to a clinically white chair that sat at the center of an equally colourful room, her arms and legs held in place by what appeared to be futuristic glow sticks. "Was this really necessary?" She thought to herself, she would've screamed if she could, but her mouth was just as useless as the rest of her. "I already can't move, and now I'm tied up against my will!"

Shortly after her kidnapping, Maddie, Emily, and they're unwelcomed guests had been transported on to the ship, before the two women we're taken to they're holding cells. This room, to which Maddie had taken to referring as the 'Lose all hope' room, was a rather bland place, with four lighting fixtures adorning each corner of the room. Besides that, it's only other noticeable feature was the grey metallic door that served as its entry.

Her eyes snapped towards the entrance as it opened to reveal another armoured soldier. Maddie glared at the newcomer, her eyes as sharp as daggers, which was the most violent thing she could do while effectively paralyzed.

The soldier walked stiffly to the enraged woman, seemingly not noticing the death stare he was receiving, and stood beside her. He manipulated the small device on Maddies neck, and after a series of mechanical noises, she let out a loud gasp, once again finding control of her mouth.

She immediately put it to good use.

"Who the hell are you people!? Where am i!? What do you people want with me?! Or Emily!? And for the love of everything holy, WON'T ONE OF YOU SAY SOMETHING!?!?" There was, of course, no answer to any of her questions, only finding an empty silence. She sighed out of frustation, followed by the soldier exiting the room without a word and the doors closing behind him. Maddie was once again left to her own devices.

This didn't last long however. A resounding voice boomed troughout the room, seemingly coming from some sort of unseen speaker. "Ci stee ta depers Doctor?" The voice spoke in a language completely unfamilliar to the startled woman. Maddie looked around the room, trying to find the source of the voice or some sort of possible way out. The voice repeated itself. "Ci stee ta depers Doctor!?" Maddie looked up at the ceiling, assuming that was where the voice was coming from for now. "I don't speak whatever stupid language that is!" She snapped at the disembodied voice.

A tense silence followed the womans' words. It was broken by a slightly feminime voice. "How odd." The new voice said curiously. "You appeared to understand our language before.." She trailed off, seemingly absorbing the new information that was presented to her. "No matter." She said in dismissal. "We shall continue the interrogation."

"Who are you?" Maddie blurted out the question.

It was ignored by the voice. "What do you know about The Doctor?" Maddies' irritation doubled. "Who. Are. You?" The voice appeared to groan at her question. "Answer the question. It will make this easier." Maddie grit her teeth, she really wasn't in a position to make any demands. "I don't know anything."

The voice that replied was different, yet unfortunately familliar. "The earthling lies!" A voice she regconized as Saevs screamed. "She is clearly one of his companions."

"Companions? What, 'Companions'?!" Maddie wondered to herself. "I'm not a companion or whatever is it he calls his friends. My name is Maddie!" There was a slight pause after her little proclamation, which the Anguia seem to have used for discussion, as evidence by the drowned out sounds of talk from the other side.

"This information is.. irrelevant." The feminime voice finally said. "Even if you are not his companion, he surely told you something." Maddie groaned with unconsollable frustation. "Look. All i know is that he's some sort of loon with a magic lockpick and no name." She stated simply. "Now please, let me and my friend go."

"You are in no position to be making demands!" Saev snapped at his captive. Maddie sighed, she already knew that, painfully so. "In any case." The feminine voice interject, Maddie noting a tiredness in her voice. "We still have more questions for you."

Maddie didn't know how long the interrogation lasted until they realized she didn't have any valuable information with her, the only thing she knew was that she was tired and scared by the end of it.

The guard from earlier came into the room and manipulated the device on Maddies neck, rendering her paralyzed once again. After unlocking the straps, he flung her over his shoulder and walked out of the room. Maddie looked down (Though she really didn't have much of an option.), seeing the sterile white floor of the interrogation room replaced by a more grey metallic one.

The holding block was a long corridor home to numerous hexagonal cells, with the bars seen in a typical cage replaced with a red, see trough force field. The cells held various people Maddie knew, store clerks and regular customers we're among the prisoners. Her heart stopped when she saw the motionless body of Emily inside one of them.

The guard pressed a panel in front of the cell, opening the force field and throwing the woman into the cold hard metal floor. Maddies' cheek and arm was sore from the sudden contact. Her face was lying besides Emily', her eyes we're closed and she could know see she was unconscious.

Maddie a curious 'whooshing' sound and saw that the force field was back, bathing the two women in an intimidating red wash. The guard looked over his two prisoners, before nodding to himself and marching away from the cell. "Emily!" Maddie yelled out in her mind, getting increasingly infuriated that she couldn't vocalize the thought, or any of her thoughts for that matter

Her eyes darted around the small room, looking for some sort of escape route. "Okay.." She tried to steady herself. "Lets see what i have to work with." Maddie noted the grate in the ceiling, for ventilation purposes it seemed, but it was too high for her to reach. The frame that generated the force field was embedded into the wall, impossible to interact with from the inside.

"God." Maddie thought to herself. "I can't even move! Even if i do get out of here, what am i supposed to do against these people." She closed her eyes. "Mom.. Dad.. I'm never gonna see them again will i?" Her heart sank as the realization hit her. "I'm never gonna see my family again. Or my friends.." She looked at the unconscious blonde beside her. "And what about Emily? She'd probably be at bed if i didn't lead them to her.."

If the woman weren't too focused on her own self deprecating thoughts, she probably would've noticed the loud banging noises echoing from the grate. Though she definitely noticed the scream of panic as a familiar man fell trough it feet first into the small room.

The Doctor groaned in pain, nursing his (probably) broken leg. "Doctor!" Maddie exclaimed in her mind. She really didn't know why, it wasn't like he could actually hear her thoughts or..

"Maddie?"

She didn't know how he managed to hear that, or if he even heard it all, but she quite frankly didn't care. His leg glowed a golden light, seemingly healing his injuries. The Doctor stood up and took his screwdriver out of his pocket, taking a quick scan of the two women. "Ah, there's your problem." The man remarked to himself. He pointed the screwdriver back at them, emitting a small hum until the small devices on they're necks short circuited and fell off.

Maddie slowly sat up, relishing the control she regained over her arms and legs. "Oh dear." The Doctor said, looking at the still motionless Emily. "Why isn't she waking up?" Maddie snapped her attention back to her blonde haired friend.

The woman grabbed Emily by the shoulder, pulling her closer. "Emily, Emily!?" She said, shaking her friend a little out of desperation, there was no response. Maddie put a hand over Emily' chest, it was still beating, and her body was still warm. "Come on girl, wake up!"

A weight on her shoulder was lifted when she saw her friends eyes peek open, a glimpse of her blue irises visible for half a second. Emily's eyes fluttered open, her vision still blurry and her mind still messy. "Emily!" Maddie exclaimed. "Your okay!"

Emily' head was still aching, but it was clear enough that she could recognize her friends face close to her. Maddie pulled her friend into a warm hug, feeling nice when contrasted with the cold room. "M-Mads?" Emily said in a groggy voice. "W-Whats going on?"

Before she could receive an answer, The Doctor interjected. "Ahem, excuse me." The two women looked back at him. "I would hate to break this up, but we should really be going right about now." He said with an underlying urgency in his voice.

The Doctor waved his sonic screwdriver around the force fields frame, stepping back and waiting until the force field dissipated. He poked his head out of the now open cell and looked around, stepping into the hallway when he saw that there we're no guards. "I've hacked into the cameras on the way here, they're playing repeating images of the rooms they're supposed to be monitoring." He explained. "that should convince them for at least half an hour."

"Seriously, whats going on?" Emily asked, now with a concerned tone in her voice.

"Your sitting in a holding cell, on an invisible ship, after being kidnapped by reptilian aliens." He stated in a matter of fact manner.

"Wait what?"

"Shush."

The Doctor strode out of the room, briefly observing every cell and they're inhabitants. Reluctantly, Maddie and Emily followed him, seeing no other option on what else to do in this situation. He ran the cells over with the screwdriver, occasionally checking the small metallic rod. Maddie now had the chance to really take in the scene in front of her. In one cell, she could see one of her customers, unconscious in a sitting position. In another she could see the owner of the electronics store, conscious but not moving.

"W-whats gonna happen to these people?" Emily wondered aloud, not really directing the question at anybody in particular. The Doctor responded, not looking at her. "No idea, that's what i'm here to find out."

They reached the door, The Doctor pointing his screwdriver at it before feeling a tight hand on his shoulder. He looked back, seeing a slightly peeved Maddie staring him down (Or trying to, considering her shorter stature). "Hold on, you can't be leaving these people behind!"

The Doctor tried to avoid eye contact with her. "It wouldn't do much good. They would just be recaptured anyway." Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you help us?" The man shrugged. "Well you can't expect me to fight an army of aliens by myself do you?" he said, half joking.

He activated the screwdriver and opened the door, having it sliding into the wall. The Doctor walked out of the room seemingly not bothered and undaunted by the task at hand. He took a long stride before noticing the lack of footsteps behind him. The man turned around, seeing the two women we're still standing where they we're, he frowned a little. "Well, come now." He called out to them. "Come along, I've distracted them, but they won't stay that way. Seize the day! Carpe diem! All of your other lovely earth phrases."

The Doctor turned back and continued his stride. Maddie and Emily looked at each other, uncertainty colored both of them. "Or perhaps you would like to wait for the guards to come back?" The man added.

Maddie sighed, conceding his point. She moved to follow him, with Emily quickly trailing behind. "Okay." She said wearily, catching up with him. The Doctor smirked. "A few rules." He said without looking at them. "No wandering off, no rushing into danger, and most importantly.."

He paused, thinking over his last rule. The Doctor looked back at the two.

"If anything goes wrong, run like hell!"


	6. Backed In A Corner

"No movement, no suspicious activity, nothing."

The commander watched the monitors intently, every screen showed no problem. There we're no technical issues, no intruders, no escaped humans. The small, repetitive beeping filled the room, being the only sound that cut trough the silence.

She tapped her foot impatiently on the floor, waiting for something. Anything, to happen. Her eyes snapped to a monitor she had been previously ignoring. "Still nothing. Just an empty corridor."

"You sound disappointed at the idea, Jonali." A familiar raspy voice said from behind her. "No, Certus." Jonali said in a flat tone. "I'm merely cautious."

If Anguia had eyebrows, Certus would've raised them. "Cautious? Cautious of what?" Jonali gave a sideways glance at her friend. "Certus. Who are we currently searching for?" Certus looked around the room, as if the question was some sort of trap. ".. The Doctor?" Jonali gave a nod. "And didn't we capture some of these humans he's so fond of." Certus gave a little nod, he could see her point know. "If the legends we heard as a child are any indication, The Doctor is not a man to be trifled with. We made that mistake already."

"I-i see." Certus said hesitantly. Jonila took it as agreement. "What progress have you made on locating his TARDIS?" She asked, turning her attention back to the monitors. Certus hesitated. "Uh, the TARDIS has proven.. difficult to find." Jonila sighed.

Certus took a few steps forward. "Perhaps he's already off world." He suggested. "The legends do mention something about him not staying in one place for long." Jonila shook her head. "From the reports we've been able to gather, The Doctor appears rather fond of this world and its inhabitants. He wouldn't just disappear."

He wouldn't just disappear, he wouldn't just fly off in his TARDIS and do nothing. He must be up to something, perhaps on the ship itself! Jonila sighed, there had to be some sort of sign, some small detail.

"Wait.."

Small detail.

"Small Detail.." She mumbled to herself, before her reptilian eyes widened.

Jonali slammed a button on the wall. Immediately, green lights blared trough the room and a loud siren sounded. She spoke into a microphone like device. "This is not a drill! All units disperse and scour the ship for intruders!"

"Whats wrong?!" A thoroughly surprised Certus asked. Jonali primed her plasma pistol before tossing another one at her friend, which he hastily caught. "The Doctor is on the ship."

 

"So.. what are we looking for exactly?" Maddie asked The Doctor. They we're previously walking in silence moments earlier, all three of them on guard for any Anguians after properly explaining the situation to Emily. The Doctor checked the readings on his Sonic screwdriver. "The central terminal." He stated simply. "If we are to stop them, i imagine knowing they're plans would be rather important to that end."

Maddie nodded. They continued on in silence for a few more moments, they're footsteps echoing of the metal floor. "Hey, how come i could understand these people earlier." She asked suddenly. The Doctor looked at her curiously. "Would you like to elaborate?" Maddie paused, trying to think of a way to explain herself.

"Well." She started. "When they first found me, i could understand the questions they we're asking. But when they interrogated me later, they we're talking in some weird language and then they switched to English."

The Doctor mused over her statement, meanwhile Emily gave Maddie a surprised look. "Wait, you met these people before?" She asked with a hint of concern in her voice. "Why didn't you tell me about it?" Maddie tried to avoid her roommates eyes, feeling somewhat guilty at the worry she caused her. "Well, you can't really blame me." Maddie insisted. "If your friend told you that they had a run in with a bunch of aliens, then i can't imagine you'd take it very well." Emily seemed to accept the explanation as her body relaxed slightly, yet she still had concern etched in her face. "I guess you have a point, but.." She paused her expression growing darker. "It's just, i want you to be safe."

The Doctor seemed blissfully ignorant of the tense silence that followed, Maddie and Emily seemed to feel slightly more awkward with each others presence. Both of them refused to look at each other, while The Doctor was preoccupied by the sonic screwdriver.

They turned left at the end of the corridor, when a green light suddenly blared around them and a loud siren sounded. "Doctor!?" A panicked Maddie said. "Whats going on!?" The man furrowed his eyebrows. "Hmm, it appears they've seen trough my little trick. Maddie, Emily?" The two eyed The Doctor expectantly. "Remember rule number 3?"

Before they could say anything, The Doctor dashed off on his own. The two women hastily followed him, both of them panting when they managed to catch up with him. He was still looking intently at the sonic screwdriver, which was beeping with increasing frequency. "Doctor!" Maddie called out. "Where are we going!?" The Doctor smirked. "Central terminal, already told you."

"Guys!" Emily yelled, the two looked back and saw a pair of soldiers coming they're way. The two soldiers raised they're pistols and took aim. "Keep your heads down!" The Doctor barked at Maddie and Emily. The two women complied and moved they're heads out of the range of fire, narrowly missing the twin plasma bolts aimed for they're skulls.

They continued to dodge and weave trough the shots, with Maddie and Emily both having more than a few close calls. The Doctor turned right when they reached an intersection. "This way!" Only to be met by another pair of armed Anguia. "Not this way!" He dodged the oncoming shots while running the other way.

Maddie and Emily caught up with him once more as the four guards converged on them, shooting a barrage of plasma at the trio. Maddie yelled out in pain when one of the shots glazed her upper arm, burning of the fabric of her sleeves and leaving a black burn mark. The Doctor looked back at her. "Hold on now! We're almost there!"

He checked his sonic screwdriver, the beeping growing in frequency. The Doctor looked up, and smirked when he saw a metal door in front of them. He picked up his pace, leaving Maddie struggling to catch up. She felt a tug on her arm and saw Emily looking back at her, the blonde holding her friends hand tightly.

Emily' running grew faster as she tried to catch up to the man in front of them. The muscles on her legs we're straining themselves, and her breathing became even harder. The Doctor reached the door and pointed his screwdriver at it. With the push of a button, the lock was open, and The Doctor swung the door open.

The blonde jumped into the room in an attempt to quicken her escape, pulling her friend in with her. They slammed against the metal floor, bruising they're shoulders in the process. The adrenaline rush began to fade when The Doctor slammed the door shut, tapping buttons on a panel near the side. "Deadlocked!" He exclaimed to no one in particular. "It'll take them a moment before they get in, but sometimes a moment is all we need!"

His chipper attitude soon faded as he spotted Maddie laying in pain on the cold floor and Emily inspecting her burn mark with worry painted across her features.

"Dear lord.." He whispered to himself. The Doctor rushed to the woman' side, looking her over with his sonic screwdriver. Emily looked at him. "Doctor.." She said with desperation in her voice. "Do something for gods sake! Your a Doctor!" She was a little taken aback by her own aggressive tone, but that really didn't matter at this point.

The Doctors' face was more serious than he had ever been that night (which was technically the most serious it's ever been). He looked over his scans and found his frown deepening. "Alright. Suppose that's it."

He went to put a hand over the burn wound and closed his eyes. Emily moved to stop it, but paused when The Doctors hand glowed a glorious golden light. The glow traveled towards Maddies' burn mark and, to Emily' surprise, the wound started to heal.

The black burn wound disappeared, and in its place was Maddies' normal skin, unharmed. The woman quick breathing slowed as she went to touch the place that the shot grazed her, finding it completely healed. Maddie gave The Doctor a confused look.

"H-how did you-"

"No time." The Doctor said simply. "Long story short, i healed you with my leftover regeneration energy." He said in a vague and somewhat condescending tone. Maddie "But, wait-" Her words we're met on deaf ears, seeing as The Doctor had already gotten up and shifted his attention to the room they found themselves in.

Control panels aligned each side of the room, all of them filled with buttons and beeping lights of varying colors. There we're monitors with odd writing in a language unfamiliar to the two women. At the back of the room, was a large computer. The device bore an odd logo at the top and a large touch pad with a keyboard was at the front.

The Doctor walked over to (what Maddie assumed to be) the central terminal. He placed a careful hand above the digital keyboard, seemingly unsure of how to continue. Emily pulled Maddie up and they walked to join the eccentric mad man. "So, is this it?" Maddie asked The Doctor. "Yes.." He said, his hands fidgeting with uncertainty.

"Well, what now?" The woman asked anxiously. The Doctor looked down in contemplation, a pregnant pause filled the room which was only inturrupted by the small beeping. He began tapping on the alien letters that marked the keys. Odd symbols began appearing on the screen as The Doctor put in lines upon lines of code.

Both of the women watched the screen intently, despite not really knowing what it is The Doctor was accomplishing. Maddie spoke up. "What are you doing exactly?"

The Doctors eyes we're still glued to the monitor. "Accessing the ships files." He stated simply. "I need to find something. Images, documents, lunch schedules. Anything that might tell us what they're plan is."

It was at that moment, that Emily was reminded of the soldiers, when one of them (or in fact all of them, she wasn't sure) started firing upon the door, the sound of pure energy bouncing off of the metal door ringing trough the room. She tapped The Doctor hastily on the shoulder. "You should probably hurry with that."

The Doctor remained silence as he pressed a final button and a selection of files appeared on the screen. They're names meant nothing to Maddie, but The Doctor appeared to spot exactly what he needed.

A jumble of words appeared at the screen, a list Maddie noticed. "Is this it?" She asks the man beside her. Slowly, he begins to nod, and he begins to read. At first, he nods in understanding, skimming trough the list of steps the plan had. Then, he narrows his eyes in focus, furrowing his brow in contemplation as he tried to piece together the pieces.

And then it comes washing like a wave.

"Hmm."

"What, what is it?" Maddie asked The Doctor worriedly, this didn't sound good. "Oh, it's really nothing." The Doctor said nonchalantly. "Just your usual 'steal all of Earths resources to fund they're war plan', a rather common one if you ask me." He said it so calmly that Maddie may have just laughed at it, but the words that came out prevented her from doing so. "...What!?"

"Phase 2." The Doctor said, translating the writing. "Abduct the earthlings, slowly lessening they're numbers while gathering information on its defenses. Gather resources, including iron, steel, gasoline, and oil. More resources will be listed as they are discovered. Return to home with slaves and resources."

"Wait." Maddie asked. "Slaves?" The Doctor hummed in thought. "Humans probably. Wonders a little reconditioning will do."

Another series of blasts hit the door, and all three snapped they're attention back to they're pursuers, separated between thick metal. "Can they get in?" Emily asked The Doctor nervously. He shook his head. "They're guns can't pierce that door and they can't unlock it. It's deadlocked." It was at this point that Maddie interjected. "Well that's great and all, but how are we supposed to get out of here? We're trapped!"

The Doctor tilted his head in thought. "True. But being trapped doesn't mean helpless." He strode over confidently to the door, putting a hand over the pad beside it, before looking back at Maddie and Emily. "Just as a warning, you may not like this." Before any words could be said, he pushed a button on the pad and threw his arm up in quick succession. The door opened and the guards switched quickly from a focused resolve to a bewildered confusion.

"We surrender!" The Doctor yelled out, almost triumphantly, only serving to confuse everyone more. Maddie and Emily looked at eachother, horror upon both they're features. He wasn't serious was he? Was getting them recaptured his best plan?

No one was really sure how to react to The Doctor's little proclamation, until a new armoured individual stepped into the hallway.

She pushed one of the soldiers aside meeting the ships intruder face to face. Jonali removed the helmet obstructing her face and for the first time, Maddie and Emily saw the creature beneath. Her head was an odd mix of humanoid and reptilian, the eyes more resembled a one of a snake than a human and it had no hair to speak of. Her skin was covered in green scales and her mouth bore large fangs.

The newcommer approached The Doctor, letting none of her fear show. "Doctor." She said with authority in her voice. "You will come with us. Surrender your sonic probe and your TARDIS key." The Doctor smiled at the demand. "Of course! They're in my pockets. Here you go." He gestured for Jolani to take them.

She gave a look at one of the soldiers, prompting him to accept The Doctors offer and reached into his pockets, grabbing the sonic device and the small silver key. Jonali aimed her plasma pistol at The Doctor. "Walk." She said with an absolute tone in her voice.

"I suppose i have no choice, correct?" The Doctor replied chipperly. Jonali moved her gun to the mans head. "Understood." The soldier pointed at the room within, gesturing for her men to the women inside. As the troops began to pile in the room, The Doctor raised a hand at them. "Hold on! Those two are with me!"

Maddie and Emily felt cold hands on they're shoulders and barrels of guns pushed against they're backs. They tried to struggle free, but could only push lightly against the armoured hands.

The Doctor gave Jonali a look. She met his gaze before turning to men. "Two of you check on the holding cells, bring the females with you. The rest of you, secure The Doctor." Soon enough, The Doctor was joined by two soldiers by his side, complete with armed rifles pointed at him.

Jonali gave the Anguian equivalent of a smirk. "Now, lets go."


	7. Syndicate

"Great, this is the second time i have a gun against my head tonight." Maddie mumbled under her breath.

She and Emily we're being lead back to the holding cells, rifles trained on they're heads to prevent any escape attempt. They're eyes darted around the hallway they we're in, trying to locate anything that might help them. Unfortunately, the metallic halls offered no assistance.

"Maddie." Emily whispered-yelled. "What do we do?" Her friend looked down, contemplating her next move. "I don't know." She whispered back. "That idiot, sold us out. And i don't think we can fight these guys." The despair in the air was palpable at that point.

"He wouldn't just leave us right?" Emily insisted, desperation clear in her voice. "Why go trough all that trouble to save us, if he was just going to abandon us?" She had a point, Maddie decided, why do this if they we're just going to be left to the soldiers. "Maybe.. maybe he has a plan?"

The blonde looked down. "I hope so." The next part was almost inaudibly quiet. "I really wish i could.." Maddie noticed her friends expression darker. "Emily, is everything-" Before she could continue, the blonde interrupted her. "It's fine. Definitely not as important as getting away right now."

Maddie nodded. She was right, they're priorities should be on escaping.

Eventually, they reached the entrance to the holding cells. The guard behind Emily walked in front of her to manipulate the touch pad next to the door, and manipulated the controls.

Now, Maddie noted, only a single guard was watching the pair. A single guard with a gun and armor, but still, only one guard and two of them. It would've been very easy for her to be killed, it would've been very easy for her to be shot down on the spot.

"Well.." She thought to herself. "They're gonna kill me either way."

Before he could react, Maddie turned around and tackled the soldier, knocking him to the ground. She tried to wrestle the rifle out of his hand, finding that Anguians we're considerably stronger than she anticipated. The soldier knocked the woman to the side, knocking the air out of her lungs in the process. The soldier, dazed and confused, slowly rose from where Maddie pushed him down. He aimed down on her with his rifle, while from outside of his vision, Emily rushed forward and took a pistol from one of his belt compartments, following her roommates example.

When he noticed, the soldier turned around and saw a gun in front of his face, an opportunity Maddie took to jump up and swipe his rifle from him. All of they're eyes we're drawn back to the entrance when they heard another rifle being cocked and aimed at Emily.

They stayed that way for a minute, standing in a sort of stand off. Hands we're on triggers and the tension in the air could be cut by a knife. "Put your weapon down." Maddie demanded. When the guard didn't comply, she yelled out. "We'll shoot him!" Making the aggression in her voice clear.

"Mads.." Emily called out to her quietly. Maddie looked at her, and only know noticed her hand was shaking as she held the gun. Maddie looked at her own hands, realizing at a very in- opportune moment that neither had ever shot a gun before. She turned back at the soldier. "We'll do it." She said again, though her voice was now a little shaky.

The Anguian considered his options, loosening his grip on the trigger ever so slightly.

After what felt like an eternity, The Anguia lowered his gun. Maddie smiled slowly. "Okay.." She said, more to herself than anybody else. "..now, drop your weapon." She ordered, her voice was still shaky. The soldier reluctantly did so, his rifle hitting the floor with a loud 'clang'.

Maddie walked up to him, keeping the rifle she was holding trained on him. She figured if she pretended she knew how to shoot the thing, then it could help her get her way. "Open it." She gestured at the door with her rifle, finding herself a little more firm than before.

The soldier did as he was told and the door opened up behind him. "Walk." Maddie said as threateningly as she could manage. The soldier complied to her demands and started walking into the prison, hands behind his head, quickly followed by his comrade.

The two woman walked closely behind them, the roles reversed.

After the two soldiers were securely within one of the cages (With a little trouble figuring out how the cages controls worked), Maddie and Emily let out a huge sigh of relief, with the latter enveloping the former in an excited hug. "Mads!" She said happily. "How did you do that?"

Maddie pulled away from the hug to look at her friend. "Uh, did what?" The blonde gave a chuckle. "That, tackling that guy and taking his gun and.. that!" Emily said, unable to find the words in the middle of her happiness. Maddie could feel a little blush appearing on her cheeks. "Well.." She said sheepishly. "I used to take up wrestling during high school..." Emily gave another happy chuckle before catching Maddie in another warm hug.

The older woman gave a little smile when she looked down at the head of beautiful blonde hair below her face. A part of her wanted to stay in the embrace a little longer, but the rest knew that it wasn't over yet.

"Okay." Emily said as he pulled away from the hug a second time. "What do we do now?"

 

The Doctor meanwhile, was much calmer about his own situation.

He had spent most of the walk trying to stir up casual conversation with his captors ("So.. how do you boys like winter? Oh right, reptilian, shouldn't have asked.) Which, ironically, only served to further unnerve them.

Jonalis calm and confident stride served to mask the confusion and doubt gnawing at the back of her mind. "The legends told of an unstoppable force of nature that destroys everything in its wake." She thought to herself, giving a glance at The Doctor. "Not this silly fool."

"Oh you!" The Doctor said, noticing the look Jonali was giving him. "What's your name?" She snapped her attention back to the front. This irritated The Doctor. "Oh come now, if we're going to be here awhile, might as well get to know each other!" He said, trying to put an upbeat spin on the whole situation. "I'll start. Hello, i'm The Doctor!"

There was no response, only silence.

The Doctor sighed. "Not talkers i suppose." He said, a little discouraged. "Ah well." Jonali could feel a new swell of irritation fill her, this 'Doctor' was starting to get on her nerves.

The rest of the walk proceeded with relative silence, though The Doctor did make a few remarks and quips (Once again, met with silence). After a while, they finally reached a large sliding door. Jonali walked forward and pushed a button next to the door, opening it to reveal a long room within.

They walked into (what The Doctor assumed to be) the main bridge, passing by several screens that showed varying pieces of information, from the status of the ship to an overhead picture of the land below. Several Anguians gave a passing glance at the party, the ones without helmets gave a variety of reactions, ranging from curiosity to shock.

At the end of the room stood two Anguians, one of them noticeably larger than the other one. They stood before a large window that looked out of the invisible craft, where several buildings could be seen. The two seemed to be talking intently on a very important subject when Jonali moved to interrupt them.

"Excuse me, sir?" She said quietly, addressing the larger one with the respect of a subordinate. "What?" The large one snapped at her with a familiar voice. Jonali turned back to point at The Doctor.

Saev looked at the Time Lord, his emotion indiscernible, though it was partly due to his reptilian face. "Oh, hello." The Doctor said sheepishly. "We met before haven't we?". The Anguian took a confident step towards his new prisoner. "Yes, and you embarrassed me, and my soldiers." He said with a menacing edge.

"Well, that's usually what happens when i'm around." The Doctor replied with a polite smile. "No shame in it." . Saevs face contorted into a frown. "Silence. You will not be leaving this ship alive."

"Yes, i'm quivering in my boots." The man said sarcastically. "Honestly, I've heard that so many times, i should make a drinking game out of it." He mumbled the next part under his breath. "Wonder if 

"Enough!" The reptilian alien yelled out, drawing a few eyes toward them. "You, Doctor, will give us the whereabouts of your TARDIS. Or we will lay waste to the world below." The Doctor raised an eyebrow at that little proclamation, giving Saev an unbelieving look. "Really then?" He asked, putting a little too much emphasis on his words. "And i'm just supposed to believe you?"

"I've been trough this whole song and dance enough times to know what comes if i do give you The TARDIS, and it definitely isn't protection for the planet." The man continued. "Besides, from what I've seen of your technology, a single broken down ship with a handful of soldiers isn't enough to take over the Earth."

"Broken down?" Jonali interjected, and The Doctor gave her a confused look. "Yes, obviously it's broken down." He exclaimed confidently. "Clearly you lot crashed here and your communications are down! Why else would you not bring a full fleet with you if the ship was fully functional? You could've gone back to Anguia or even called a fleet of ships ages ago!"

Saev chuckled at the mans suggestion. "You presume too much Doctor." The Time Lords face contorted into one of confusion, and Saev took quite a bit of pleasure as it morphed into one of realization.

"Oh, OH!" The Doctors face had a smile on it. "Your not with Anguia, are you! I was right, you are a radical faction!" He yelled out. "That talk about resources for war, it wasn't about a war for Anguia, it was about war against Anguia"

Saev shook his head. "Against it? No, Doctor. We are merely returning it to its rightful owners." The Doctors smile faded as Saev continued. "For decades, our leaders had poisoned our peoples mind, our society slowly crumbling away until it became a festering husk of what it once was." His tone grew more and more bitter as he went on.

"I have fought in many of our peoples battles, i have seen the honorable ways of our past crumble slowly to dust, and the people are complacent about this assault on our very existence! We aim to change that." Several of the Anguians in the room turned they're attention to they're leaders words. "We are the last remnants of the true Anguia, WE. ARE. THE. SYNDICATE!"

'WE ARE THE SYNDICATE!" Echoed trough out the room, and The Doctor had a grave expression on his face.

"Saev, listen." He pleaded with the leader. "You can fight for what you believe in, you can strive for it. But please, don't bring the Earth into this. It has nothing to offer you!" Saev shook his head. "No Doctor. The humans have nothing to offer, but this world is rich in resources and lacking in an advanced race to defend it."

"Oh, you do make a fine point, a wonderful point even." The Doctor said, taking a step. "But you are forgetting a very, very, important factor." The soldiers beside him clutched they're guns triggers a little harder. "This world, has a defender!" He shouted proudly. "I am The Doctor, and you are not the first threat to this planet i have defeated."

"Yes, but we will be the first threat to succeed." Saev snapped his fingers and The Doctor was riddled by plasma bolts before anyone could react.

Murmurs of shock and awe spread across the room as The Doctors lifeless body dropped on to the floor. Even Jonali was taken aback by the unexpected sight of The Time Lords cadaver. "You two!" Saev said, pointing at the two guards that shot The Doctor. "Take him to the incinerator!"

The soldiers nodded, each picking up The Doctors corpse by his shoulder, and marched out of the room.

Saev gave the Anguian equivalent of a smile (Which looked more like a snarl than anything). He turned back to the glass behind him, a new feeling of confidence washing over him. "By the end of tomorrow, we will have a foothold on this nation, and we will spread until all of this world belongs to the Syndicate!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of don't like this chapter, but i am satisfied with the dialogue.


	8. Attempted Rescue

Maddie and Emily tried to walk as quietly as possible, and considering they're lack of experience, we're doing an impressive job.

"Uh, this rifle is way heavier than i thought." Maddie grumbled. She could still carry it just fine, but it was starting to get cumbersome. Emily was faring better, only carrying a light pistol. Neither of them knew how to shoot a gun, but they decided they might be useful as threat.

"So where are we going, anyway?" Emily asked. Maddie furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not really sure." She admitted to her. "But, we were teleported onto here. So, maybe we could find some way to do that?" Her friend looked down. "Okay, but how are we supposed to use it? This is alien technology."

She had a good point, one which Maddie chose to ignore. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

The pair turned a corner, feeling reliefed when they saw that no one was there. They really didn't want to be put in a situation where they had to use these weapons. The two women walked towards a junction, but scrambled away when they heard the sounds of oncoming footsteps.

Maddie and Emily found themselves backing up against a metal wall, pointing they're weapons at the currently empty spot the soldiers would walk into. They had no intention of actually killing them, but one could never be too safe.

They're eyes widened when they smelled the stench of charred flesh and saw the hints of a grey frockcoat.

The soldiers passed without noticing the two women, whom breathed a sigh of relief. It was short lived however, as the relief was quickly replaced by shock and panic. "Mads.. was that?.." Emily stuttered out, her grip on the pistol tightening even more. Maddie nodded. "I.. i think so.."

Emily gulped, looking down at her pistol. "Sh- should we help him?" Maddie gave her a look. "Why?!" She said exasperated. "He's probably already dead!" Emily gulped. "I know!" She whisper-shouted But, what if he isn't? If he's alive, he's our only shot out of this place!" Maddie sighed, Emily had a point, The Doctor seemed far more knowledgeable about this alien technology than either of them we're, and far more capable in this situation. "Okay, yeah." Maddie conceded. "Lets go."

They quietly followed after the two soldiers, who seemed to be heading towards a door at the end of the hallway. They're footsteps being remarkably well concealed.

When the soldiers reached the door and went to touch the pad beside, they heard the clicking of a rifle being primed, and turned around to see the two women with guns trained on them, dropping The Doctor in the process. "Step away from The Doctor." Maddie ordered. The two soldiers looked at each other, confused at what to do. Maddie walked forward, shooting of a warning shot that startled everyone, even herself. "Step. Away. From. The Doctor." She said, putting on the bravest facade she had.

Before anyone could react, The Doctor shot up. The supposedly dead man snatching the sonic screwdriver from one of the soldiers compartment. Everyone snapped they're attention to him. "Don't feel too bad boys, i get shot all the time!" He said before activating the device and disabling the soldiers guns.

They stepped away from The Doctor, only to be met by the barrel of Maddies rifle.

"Oh you don't have to be scared, lads!" The Doctor exclaimed. His face turned serious as he gestured to the room behind him. "Get in." The Time Lord said with the firmness of a general.

The two did as they we're told, hurrying themselves into the incinerator room. After they did, The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at the door and activated it, causing a loud clicking noise to sound from it, notifying to him that he had locked it. He turned back to Maddie and Emily, a large smile plastered on his face. "You two are brilliant!" He exclaimed happily. "How did you manage to escape?"

Maddie shook her head. "Its a long story, even i'm not too sure how we did it. More importantly, what happened to you, and how did you survive it?"

The Doctor paused for a moment, recollecting the events he went trough. "Sorry." He said suddenly. "Memories a tad mixed up after getting riddled by plasma bolts." The Doctor clapped his hands together. "Anyway. Long story short, i was brought to the Anguian leader, who ordered my execution. Thankfully i still had some excess regeneration energy running around and so i simply healed back from my wounds." Emily spoke up. "Wait, so you can heal yourself?" The Doctor frowned. "Well, technically, though i unfortunately can't pull off what i just did a second time. All out of it, i'm afraid."

Maddie and Emily nodded, they would ask so many questions when this was over, but for now they had far more pressing concerns. "So, whats next?" Maddie asked. The Doctor gave her an indiscernible look before giving his answer. "Not quite sure honestly" He admitted, shocking both Maddie and Emily. "What!?" The two women yelled out in unison. Maddie was the one to continue while Emily simply looked at him. "What do you mean, your 'not sure'? You had all that talk and went trough all that trouble and you don't have a plan!?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Not to worry! I'm sure one will come to me."

Immediately, a voice The Doctor and Maddie recognized as Saev boomed trough out the ship. "Heads of the Syndicate!" He said in the native Anguian tongue. "Meet at the planning room in an hour!"

The smile on The Doctors face was of the smug variety. "See?" He said to Maddie. "A plan came to me."

Maddie raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" The Doctor paused, shaking his head as he remembered. "Right, you two don't understand them." He cleared his throat. "Basically, they just called a meeting for they're planners and leaders."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, but how does that help us?" The Doctor gave a sly little grin, gesturing to the door behind him. He turned to Emily "Give me the gun." He demanded. The blonde complied, handing the man her pistol.

Without another word, The Doctor turned heel and walked up to the door, unlocking it with his sonic screwdriver. He poked his head into the room while pointing the pistols at the two inside. "Alright, you boys. Armor. Off. Now."

After a few minutes of waiting, The Doctor returned with two sets of Anguian armor in tow. "Okay, i see where your going with this." Maddie said skeptically. "But that armor is way too big for any of us." The Doctor nodded. "Very observative. But not to worry, it's a one size fits all kind of deal." Maddie grunted back in response. "Fine, but there are only two sets of armor and there's three of us."

The Doctors mouth moved to respond but no words came, apparently not having a comeback for that. "Hmm." He mused over the options that we're available.

"Why don't you and Maddie just wear them." Emily offered. The Doctor mulled over her suggestion, while Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Why? what about you?" Emily looked away from her friend. "Well, i'm good at avoiding attention. And besides, your more physically capable than i am."

The Doctor clapped his hands together. "Good plan. Alright, if there are no objections." He looked around the room, which was somewhat unnecessary, considering there we're only two other people. Maddie shook her head. "Hold on, Emily, we're not just gonna leave you alone on this alien spaceship. At least not without a good reason."

"Mads." Emily said pleadingly. Giving her a reassuring smile. "i'm not really good for much anyway. At least i can help you guys by staying out of your way." Maddie was about to say something back when The Doctor interjected. "Actually Emily." He said, holding a small device. "I believe i could still use your assistance." He handed over the small device to Emily, whom tentatively accepted it.

The Doctor tapped the screen on the device. "This is a communication device that the Anguian soldiers use to talk to others outside of they're radios range." He explained matter of factly while tapping the relevant buttons on the screen. "If your as good at laying low as you say you are, then i want you to scour the ship for anything that might be of interest and report it back to me. Also if you find yourself in a spot of trouble."

Emily smiled a little.

Maddie sighed. "Okay." She closed her eyes and breathed in. "Lets do this."

After putting on the armor sets (Which shifted and tightened to accommodate the wearer, much to Maddies surprise) they split up from Emily and made they're way to the planning room.

It took him a little while, but The Doctor managed to work the device built in to the armor. Maddies' didn't have one unfortunately, due to it being given to Emily, so it was all they had. The device served as both a map of the ship and as a communication device, it also possessed identification for the soldiers.

They we're both holding plasma rifles, though The Doctors was disabled, and Maddie was struggling a little more than before, now that she was also wearing incredibly heavy metal armor.

The Doctor wasn't faring much better, while his Time Lord body was considerably stronger than a humans, the suit was still cumbersome on him. He checked the device, located on his wrist, and saw that they we're still a little ways away from the planning room.

"Alright." The Doctors voice rang trough Maddies helmet. "I've wired your helmet to only be able to speak to me." Maddie decided to test that, by speaking into her helmet, her voice filtering to the Doctors. "Is it working?" The man smiled in response. "Yes. Now, Leave the talking to me, i'm rather good at talking." Maddie rolled her eyes.

Maddie and The Doctor passed by a shocking amount of soldiers on they're way to the planning room, much more than either of them had anticipated. They mostly went unnoticed. though some of them tried to stop and ask them questions which The Doctor quickly and casually answered. They seemed relaxed, Maddie noted, laughing, joking with each other. They even tried to share a few jokes with her, those didn't go over too well. All of the exchanges we're in the weird, alien language that Maddie was only somewhat surprised that The Doctor could speak.

After addressing another soldier that stopped them, Maddie decided to ask a question that was still gnawing at her in the back of her mind.

"Hey." Her voice filtered into The Doctors helmet. "So why can't i understand these people now?" There was no answer for a little, while The Doctor recalled they're previous conversations. "Oh right!" He said suddenly before adjusting something on his suits communication device. "Well you see, i suppose it's because you're out of the TARDISes psychic field."

"..What?"

"The TARDIS, i suppose you could call it my ship." He clarified, though it didn't really help Maddie that much. "It projects a psychic field that serves as a sort of universal translator, and i do mean universal."

Maddie simply stared at him blankly at the explanation. "..Oookay." She paused. "So, why isn't it working now?"

The Doctor mulled over the question for a little bit. "Well, the TARDIS is quite beat up at the moment and undergoing repairs. That tends to complicate the process a bit."

"Where is your 'ship' anyway?" She asked, starting to get a little curious about this 'TARDIS'. "It's in town actually." The Doctor said casually. Maddie snorted derisively in response. "I think i would notice a spaceship that's just, 'in town'." The Doctor chuckled. "You didn't notice this one, did you?" Maddie shrugged. "I guess you got me there. Is it in 'stealth mode'?"

The man snickered. "Technically my dear, it's always in stealth mode."

Maddie didn't really understand what he meant by that, but decided that it wasn't really important.

They turned a corner and saw a soldier guarding a door. "That's it." The Doctor whispered at Maddie. "Just stay calm and follow my lead." The two walked up to the guard, Maddie standing a little behind The Doctor. The soldier held up a hand, stopping the two in they're tracks.

"What business do you have here?" The guard spoke in Anguian. The Doctor replied likewise, with. "We have vital information for our leaders. Step out of the way." The guard looked The Doctor over, Maddie growing nervous a the inspection went on a little too long. He took The Doctors arm, observing the device on his wrist. After a few, tense seconds, he let go of his wrist and nodded.

The Doctor nodded back as the guard moved out of his way. He and Maddie walked forward, only for the woman to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

Maddie turned around to look at the guard, trying her best to stay calm, even though the helmets obscure they're faces. They stood there, tense seconds ticking away as the guard observed her, the situation made much worst because she couldn't see his face.

Eventually, the guard let her go, Maddie stifling a sigh of relief. She walked away to join The Doctor, not noticing the low grumble her helmet picked up from the guard.

The Doctor tapped a few buttons on the touch pad, or at least he was about to until a familiar voice filled his helmet. "Doctor." Emily whispered into the device she was given. "I- i think i found something." The Doctor nodded. "Can you speak a little louder?" He whispered back. The Time Lord could hear a slight ruffling from the other end. "Sorry." Emily answered. "I'm worried someone can listen in. Though, i haven't seen any guards walking around.. anyway, that thing, i wanted to talk to you about."

"I.. i think i found some sort of generator." Emilys' voice rose ever so slightly as she said it. The Doctor blinked, and quickly smiled as an idea popped into his head. "Emily, does it look like a green core, situated in a metal frame?" Emily spoke a simple 'yes' into the device. The Doctor snickered. "Do you still have your gun?"

Maddie tapped The Doctor on her shoulder, overhearing the conversation trough the communication channels. "Doctor?" The man in question snickered. "Oh nothing. Come on, lets go." He said chipperly before tapping a button on the touch pad.

The door opened, interrupting a seemingly important conversation as it did so. The twelve Anguians in the room we're seated around a large circular table that seemed to be projecting a hologram of England. They snapped they're attention to the pair, all of them without helmets, some of them standing up and all of them with confused glares. Saev, on the other hand, was visibly enraged. Even with his reptilian eyes, the anger could be practically felt from his glare.

"I'm adjusting your communication channels to translate Anguian to English." The Doctor whispered to Maddie while tapping the screen on his device. "There's going to be a lot of talking." She nodded, feeling her finger tighten slightly on the trigger.

"Soldier." Saev spoke with a snarl. "You have inturrupted a very important conversation. Speak now."

Maddie gulped, while The Doctor nodded. "Yes, i have very important news for you leader." He said in the most restrained voice she had heard him speak in, it was honestly a little jarring for her. "Well, speak it." Saev demanded, his patience running thin.

"I'm afraid, Saev." The Aguian leader tensed at the use of his name. "Your soldiers are not as effective as you may think." The Doctor removed his helmet, holding it to the side. The smile that found itself on his face was one of unbearable smugness. Every Anguian in the room stepped back from shock, some seemed slightly alarmed, and some even seemed to have fear on they're faces.

"Doctor." Saev said, a mix of confusion and anger tinting his voice. "How?"

The Doctor smirked. "Oh, that really doesn't matter." He grabbed the sonic screwdriver, situated in his belt, and locked the door behind him. Maddie readied the weappon in her hand, trying her hardest to look threatening.

"Traitor!" One of them cried out. Maddie ignored the murmurs of agreement that resounded afterwards.

Saev pulled out a pistol, aiming it at The Doctor. The Time Lord simply smiled. "Oh, i wouldn't do that!" He exclaimed, showing off the device on his wrist. The Doctor tapped the screen and a voice came trough. "Doctor?" Emily asked nervously. "Is something wrong?" The Doctor kept smiling. "Oh no Emily. Please, could you remind me where you are."

"Oh, the generator, right?"

All of the Anguians tensed, Saev in particular seemed outraged. "Oh yes, how silly of me." The Doctor answered back. "And you still have your pistol right?" He asked rhetorically. "Uh, yeah." Emily answered. "Doctor, what's going on?"

"Don't worry Emily. By the way, if you want to do anything with it, just turn the dial three times and the core should be accessible, bye!"

"O-okay." Emily answered. When the call ended, he looked around the room, finding incredible satisfaction at the horror on they're faces. "Oh?" He said sheepishly. "Is something the matter?"

Saev kept the gun trained on The Doctors head. "You.." He said in an almost primal growl. "You. Must. Die!" The Time Lord was still smiling. "Well, i'm used to that." He said nonchalantly before continuing. "Besides, i'll be 'taking you with me' and what not."

"Now!" The Doctor's voice took a more authorative tone. "Either you get out of here, or we all blow up together like one big happy family! Which one do you prefer?" Maddies' eyes widened at that. "What!?" She breathed out. "This is your plan?" The Doctors expression didn't change. "More or less."

Saev lowered his gun. "You.." He said, the utter hatred in his tone palpable. "You are a madman." The Doctor snickered. "You just figured it out now?" Saev tapped his devices screen, speaking into it.

"Wow." Maddie said to The Doctor. "That.. worked way better than i thought it would." He chuckled, leaning in to whisper something into her ear. "Honestly i thought that would be a lot harder."

At that moment, Murphy's law kicked in.

Saev gave a sickly, reptilian smile. Chuckling, having quite a bit of joy in his voice. Much to The Doctors and Maddies surprise, the shock was replaced by a hearty and proud laugh. "Very good Volaces!" He turned to The Doctor, his eyes narrowed and his smile menacing. "You see Doctor. My soldiers just reminded me of why i have chosen them."

Maddie and The Doctor we're thrown to the ground as the door behind them exploded into pieces.

The ringing in Maddie's head distracted her from the army of troops filed into the room, all of them training they're guns on them. She could barely register the fact that her helmet was off, or The Doctors panicked breathing as a plasma bolt found its way to his devices screen.

She definitely noticed the stinging pain she felt, as a the butt of a gun made contact with the side of her skull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're actually reaching the end of this story so hold on tight.


	9. Travelling

"Are the cameras fixed yet Certus?"

"No, whatever else he was, The Doctor was pretty a good hacker."

Jonali sighed, walking along the halls, not really sure what to do now that The Doctor was well..dead.

Now that they're biggest threat was nothing more than a charred corpse, the ship was now rather quiet, there was little worry and fear in her troops now. That was a good thing, she had decided. The crew had gotten incredibly nervous ever since they had arrived on Earth, fearing the day that The Time Lord of legend would rain down hell upon they're lives.

But now, with the news that The Doctor had been executed, the crew was now almost ecstatic with they're relief, joking with each other, boosting each-others confidence. It was.. nice.

Still, she couldn't help but feel worried about something. Those legends, they had been drilled into her, from her life back home, to her military training. Those legends, almost a constant in her life and those around her, never speak of The Doctor losing, never speak of him being stopped, and they never speak of him being so easily fooled.

In those legends, he was a god, a trickster, a phantom, a force of nature. It was difficult for her to reconcile this with the lunatic who was shot to death in front of her.

Perhaps, those legends we're just that, legends. Nothing more than stories and myths to keep children in line. Perhaps he wasn't the fall of The ancient Sohkas empire, perhaps he wasn't the man who faced down the great queen Malum and dethroned her. Perhaps he was just a madman.

As she was wandering within these thoughts, a message appeared on her communications device. 'The leader is in danger, head to the planning room immediately." She narrowed her eyes, before nodding to herself and priming her plasma rifle.

She would've rushed towards the planning room at that point, if not for the panicked voice screaming The Doctors name close to where she was. "Who could that be?" She mumbled to herself. Jonali checked her devices map, seeing that the closest room to her position was the generator room.

Jonali felt an under current of worry as she saw that, if The Doctor managed to find his way to the generator..

She ran towards the room, rushing towards it with determination and an itchy trigger finger. Jonali leaned against the door, now noticing that the voice was distinctly female, and also being able to make out her words. "D-Doctor? Are you there? M-Mads, are you alright?"

The Anguian slammed the door open, pointing her rifle at the now terrified human woman. Emily scrambled away from her, cowering under the soldiers steady aim. "W-Who are you?" The woman said with a shaky voice. Jonali responded with a question of her own. "You are an associate of The Doctor, tell me where he is."

Emily was still visibly shaken, but found herself with new resolve as she furrowed her eyebrows. "N-No." She said, trying to take on an authoritative tone to her speech, and finding some success, pointing her pistol back at the Anguian. Jonali narrowed her eyes and put the sights close to her eye.

"You are in no position to refuse my question. Now, Where is the Doctor?"

Before they could do anything else, a message popped up on Jonalis' device. It read.

'Jonali, The Doctor has been captured at the planning room!'

-Certus.

She looked back to Emily. "Never mind. The Doctor has been located already." All of the defiance and fire in her eyes drained away as the words reached her. "No." She breathed out. Jonali remained collected and stoic as the next few words came out. "Now, come with me."

 

Maddie awoke to the sight of Saev snapping the sonic screwdriver in half.

The Doctor and Maddie knelt in front of Saev, who dropped the screwdriver onto the floor haphazardly. Saev snickered as he stood smugly in front of the captured pair. "A valiant effort Doctor. But my soldiers are exceptionally loyal, not likely to run." He spoke in Anguian and gestured to the soldiers that now surrounded him. "As they now have reminded me!"

Cheers filled the room as the soldiers raised they're weapons in triumphant glory.

"Ah yes. How did you manage that?" The Doctor asked sarcastically, also in Anguian. "How did you manage to earn the loyalty of so many people? I think its safe to assume your not exactly a sociable person, Saev."

Saev snickered. "I have already told you Doctor." He walked towards the man. "These people have been forgotten, left behind, they're way of life threatened by incompetent leaders. I have simply rallied them together! Under the banner of the Syndicate!"

Another round of cheers we're yelled out by the soldiers.

"D-Doctor." Maddie whispered in the midst of the yelling. The Doctor didn't notice the woman speaking, instead focusing his attention squarely on the Anguians. "Yes! The Syndicate. And if i we're to believe that you truly are an 'oppressed people' fighting for the glory of the olden days. What is it that you plan to do!?"

Saev let out a hearty laugh. "Is it not obvious, Doctor!? We will fight! For freedom! For justice!" The soldiers cheered yet again, while The Doctor let out his own hearty laugh, much to the confusion of everyone in the room, his laughter devolved into a series of chuckles. "Why are you laughing?" Saev asked with a sharp edge in his voice.

The Doctors laughter started up again. "Really?" He asked, genuinely curious. "I can't be the only one who sees the irony. No? Just me?"

"Doctor." Maddie repeated in a whisper-shout. The Time Lord continued to ignore her. "You talk of revolution." The Doctor said condescendingly. "Of freedom. But look at what your doing- what your planning on doing, right now."

Some of the soldiers exchanged perplexed glances. "What about the eathlings below, what will your conquest of 'freedom' and 'justice' do to them?" Saev could feel the anger building up within him. "There is a-"

"-There is a price to pay" The Doctor finished for him. "There. Is. Always. A price to pay. Always a village to burn down, always a people to enslave. All under the name of freedom and justice." He said with pronounced disgust evident in his voice. "How many children will you slaughter, Both here and back home, how many deaths will you count as acceptable?"

"Enough!" Saev roared out of anger. "They we're all doomed to die from the beginning.They're leaders made sure of that."

The Doctor smirked. "Everyone is doomed to die, Saev." He said in a more restrained matter. "But that's not what matters." The Doctors mouth moved to speak, but Saev was having none of it. "Soldiers!" He yelled out. "Execute him!"

The Doctor and Maddie closed her eyes in anticipation for they're demise, and yet there was no blaster fire that burned through They're flesh. They opened they're eyes, seeing that some of the soldiers we're now seemingly hesitant on following through on they're orders.

"Why aren't they dead!" Saev yelled at the soldier. The soldier avoided his leaders gaze.

"Yes. I would like to know as well Certus." The cold voice of Jonali caught they're attention. Everyone turned back to look at her, seeing Emily struggling in her arms. Her armored hand was placed around the blondes neck, not tight enough to be a choke, but definitely not comfortable.

"Emily!" Maddie called out. Jonali ignored the woman's call, instead walking towards Certus. "You heard what Saev said, Certus." She threw Emily to the ground, knocking the wind out of her lungs. "Execute them."

"Certus." Saev said, demanding the soldiers attention. "Are you showing disloyalty?" He asked threateningly. Certus shook his head vigorously. "N-no sir, it was just a passing thought!" Saev's face was unreadable as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "I will not tolerate disloyalty."

The room was silent as Certus' mouth fell open and he dropped to the ground, a searing hole trough his stomach. Jonali stepped back out of shock, and Saevs face remained cold as he looked at the corpse. "This is what happens to those who even consider this heretics words." He pointed at the now shocked Time Lord. "KILL THE DOCTOR."

Those tense seconds ticked away while sides we're decided and alliances we're broken and the wheel started rolling

In a series of movement, half of the soldiers raised they're guns to shoot they're former leader while the other half raised they're own weapons in retaliation. A fire fight ensued, body's dropping to the floor, either from a fatal hit or simply from a body shot.

Taking advantage of the chaos, The Doctor ran off and grabbed Maddie and Emily by the arm, initially dragging them along but eventually they started walking alongside him. "Alright! Change of plan!" The Doctor said excitedly. "To the main bridge!"

Jonali managed to free herself from the chaos, shooting down one of her former allies as she did so. She noticed the sudden disappearance of The Doctor and those humans, and looked back, catching a glance of the trio running trough the halls.

She narrowed her eyes and followed after them.

Maddie and Emily followed The Doctor with ragged breaths and tired legs, but they we're determined to ride on the adrenaline rush for as long as necessary. "D-Do-Doctor." Maddie said between breaths. "Whats the plan?"

The Doctor smiled at the question. "Well here's the thing." He started to explain. "We can't really beat them by our lonesome. But then i realized something." He threw up his hands, gesturing to the hallway. "This is a stolen ship!"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Okay, how does that help us?" The Doctor continued. "This ship is stolen, from the actual Anguian military, don't you think they would notice?" He asked her rhetorically. Maddies' eyes widened. "Oh, i get it! We're going to send them a message about they're stolen ship and the rebels piloting it!" The Doctor nodded. "Yes, except it would take far too long for them to respond and arrive. We're flying to them!"

As he said that, a stray plasma bolt flew by them, narrowly missing his head. The three looked back to see Jonali following them, the look of death in her eyes.

"Run!" The Doctor screamed.

"We're already doing that!" Maddie reminded him.

"Do it faster!" A series of shots we're fired off, all of them narrowly missing by no more than an inch. The two women managed to dodge the shots trough a combination of reflexes, fear, and luck (mostly luck). Much to Jonalis' increasing fury.

They turned a corner and managed to reach the main bridge in one piece, though a bit of The Doctors and Maddies armour we're scorched by a few of the shots that actually managed to hit them. The Doctor quickly opened the door before letting Maddie and Emily in, panicking slightly when Jonali came into view.

The Doctor entered the main bridge, locking the door behind him. He ran towards the console at the end of the room, where Maddie and Emily waited. He placed a hand over the controls, smiling to himself. "Ooh, first time piloting a ship with this body. It's usually the TARDIS."

He typed a series of coordinates in, it had been awhile since he last visited Anguia, but he still remembered its location. He broke out into a flurry of motion, flicking levers and pushing buttons at an unnaturally fast pace

A large explosion from the back alerted them to an enraged Jonali.

"Oh, hello there!" The Doctor greeted her chipperly. "I would advise you to hang on to something." He said, before pushing down on a big blue button.

At that instant, the ship started rumbling and shaking, throwing everyone (Except The Doctor) off balance. Maddie and Emily knelt down and held on to each other in an attempt to balance themselves, while Jonali held on to the exploded frame of the door. The outside shifted and warped as light bent around the ship and the space craft became faster and faster.

"Oh dear." The Doctor said to himself. "I always forget to turn on the stabilizers."

The ship tore trough the stars at light speed (literally). Everything within it was thrown to the ground, and the engines flared with white flame. The main bridge was filled with the mingling light of every celestial body it passed, constantly shifting colours crossing they're eyes.

The pressure Maddie felt on her body was almost crushing, the strain on her muscles almost painful, and the armor she was wearing like an unbearable weight on her back. Emily pushed herself closer to Maddie, attempting to steady her rapid heart with a shaky hand.

The Doctor was faring much better than the others, only feeling mildly uncomfortable by the sudden shift in pressure on his body.

When the feeling subsided, Maddie slowly stood up, her legs threatening to crumble beneath her. Her mind felt like a storm and she felt like she would puke. Everything was dizzy and blurry, and The Doctors voice sounded muffled.

Eventually, she could properly hear what he was saying. "Maddie, Emily! Are you two alright?" His question was answered when Emily groaned painfully. "Not to worry. A perfectly normal reaction for your first time travelling trough space. I'm surprised you aren't vomitting at this point."

Maddies' mind cleared enough for her to register the image she saw trough the ships windows.

In front of her was the pitch black of the eternal void, dotted with white spots she recognized as stars sprinkled in. Below her was a large celestial body, similar in shape to earth. The land was foreign and unnatural to her, there was an abundant amount of water that formed lakes, seas, and rivers. Satellites, both of the natural and artificial variety orbited around it.

It was all rather overwhelming for her to see it all at once.

"Ladies. You have just experienced something your race will not achieve for thousands of years." The Doctor said gleefully. "Interstellar travel."

Maddie and Emily stood there, staring at the sight in front of them with awe. "Mads.." Emily muttered under her breath. "Is this.. real?" Maddie didn't move. "I don't know." She hoped that this whole thing wasn't just some crazy dream she was having.

"Y-You.." The heaving voice of Jonali said behind them. "What have you done!?"

"Doing what i always do, dear. Saving the Earth."

The Doctor smiled as he pressed a button on the controls. "I just sent a message to one of the thirty-six space stations orbiting Anguias' atmosphere. Your little rebellion is over."

Jonalis' face expressed nothing other than pure desperation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, all that's left is the epilogue! This was fun for me to write.


	10. The Beginning

It was a mere ten minutes later that the Anguian military boarded the stolen ship. The Doctor, Maddie and Emily now we're standing on one of Anguias' many space station.

The soldiers of the Syndicate we're marched into the containment ship, each one of them wearing plasma cuffs. The bodies of the dead we're covered with white tarps and 'wheeled' into the ship on floating, metal boards.

"We are ever in your debt Doctor." One of the Anguian representatives said to the Time Lord. "We caught news of the Syndicates rise months ago. During your visit to the capital, was when they decided to stage they're revolt. While we we're able to fend them off, they appeared to have followed you to Earth in an attempt to strengthen themselves."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "I was not aware that i previously visited Anguia."

The representative nodded. "Yes, though your face was.. different."

"Was it the one with the eyebrows?"

"Indeed."

"Ah, makes sense. My regeneration was rather traumatic, i appear to have some short term memory loss."

Maddie (now back in her work uniform) whispered into Emilys' ear. "Can you understand what they're saying?" Emily shook her head. "Nope." Maddie nodded. "Good to know."

"You have destroyed something great, Doctor." Jonali said as she walked past him, making no effort to hide her disgust. "I never wanted Saev to be leader, but he did not lie when he said that they are destroying our world. He did not lie about the unfairness they have instigated."

The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, i never doubted that bit."

Jonali sighed, and continued marching forward. Quickly followed by the remainder of the rebellion.

"What will happen to them?" The Doctor asked. The representative remained professional as he spoke again. "They will be trialed for treason against the homeland." The Doctor nodded. "You know, some of them did change they're minds."

"That is why there are trials, Doctor."

"And the humans?" The Time Lord asked, concerned for the captives that had spent a particularly rough night aboard the ship. The representative nodded. "Trans-matted back to Earth." He extended his hand to The Doctor. "Once again, we are in your debt." The Time Lord accepted his gesture. "Do you require transportation, Doctor?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Oh no, my ride should be coming soon enough."

The Anguian nodded before boarding the ship himself. Maddie and Emily smiled, approaching The Doctor. "So, what now?" Emily asked him. "How are we supposed to get home?"

The man smiled. "Don't worry, i have the perfect solution." The Doctor reached into a pocket in his coat and pulled out a curious looking key. Maddie snickered. "What's that for?" He smiled. "The TARDIS of course."

Suddenly, strong gusts of wind picked up inside the room, pushing against the three lightly and accompanied by the most curious sound. At the center of the wind, a glimpse of something rectangular fazed in and out of reality. At first appearing see trough, but gradually it became more and more solid with time.

With a decisive 'thump' the object stayed, basking the trio in a blue light. It was a strange sight for the two women, a blue box stood before them, somewhat taller than an average person. Its roof had a lantern on it, with the words 'Police Public Call Box' written in glowing letters on a panel below. The doors had frosted windows which distorted the golden glow from inside. A series of text adorned the left side while a sticker was placed on the other.

Maddie carefully stepped forward, placing a tentative hand on the box, noticing a warmth that surprised her. She pulled back, looking the box over once more before offering a quizzical look at The Doctor. "So, this is the TARDIS?" He nodded.

"I expected it to be bigger."

"Oh, you'd be surprised."

He nudged the right door open, letting a trickle of golden light shine through the tiny opening. The man tilted his head slightly, unaware of the smile on his face. "Go on." He encouraged the two women. "Have a look inside."

Maddie and Emily exchanged uncertain looks, both searching for some sort of support from the other, and finding none. Maddie returned her attention to the box in front of her.

She took a steadying breath, before pushing open the doors and stepping into the TARDIS.

The sight inside took the air out of her lungs.

The TARDIS (as she had just discovered) had a much roomier interior than it let on. Behind the door was a large room with a domed roof, her feet we're stepping on a bronze floor with lighting fixtures set in hexagonal patterns arranged on the surface. The walls were made of a similar looking bronze metal and were lined with wooden paneling intersected by round lights.

At the center was, what appeared to be, a console. Its gold and red shell housed panels upon panels of buttons, lever, screens, and other such devices. A pair of stair cases flanked the console from both sides, leading up to a balcony overlooking the room, which led to a long hallway.

The woman looked around, vaguely recognizing Emily standing beside her, the same awestruck look on the blondes face.

For a few moments, the only sound heard was the ambient humming of the TARDIS and the two women's slow breathing as they processed the physics defying sight in front of them.

The silence was broken however, by the excited squeal of the ships owner. The Doctor rushed into the console room, hopping about like a child on Christmas morning. "Oh you beautiful, sexy, thing!" He yelled out. "You spoil me!"

The man rushed to the console, fervently admiring the ships new look. Maddie managed to snap out of her thoughts and back into the moment, turning her curious eyes to The Doctor. "I-Its.." She was interrupted by his ecstatic voice.

"Bigger on the inside!" The Doctor continued, facing the new monitor. "And so much more."

"How is this even possible?!" Emily finally spoke up. The Doctor smirked. "Magic" He replied coyly. The woman sighed, too weary from the nights escapades to question further. She stepped forward, joining her friend as they observed the man in front of them dance around the console, pushing buttons and flicking levers in rapid succession. With a madman's smile, The Doctor pulled down on one last lever. Sending his beloved ship into take off.

The room shook as the grinding and whirring accompanied the ships flight. The pillar at the consoles center moved up and down in rhythm with the noises. Maddie and Emily held onto each other in an attempt to steady themselves, while The Doctor was continuing his dance around the controls.

Maddie yelled out at the man. "Doctor, what are you doing?" The person in question looked up from the panel. "Taking you two home of course!"

On a dimly lit street in London, the TARDIS could be seen materializing in the middle of it. The police box lamp shone trough the darkness, as its doors creaked open. Maddie poked her head out of the box, taking a glance at the familiar sight. She stepped onto the pavement and took one last look at the blue box. "I-it moved."

Emily followed her friend outside, sharing her sentiments. The blonde looked past Maddie, and saw they're apartment building, still in the same state that they had left it in. She looked back at the TARDIS, and found The Doctor, standing proudly in front of it.

"Well, i do believe that this is your home?" He said, mostly to himself. "Though this wouldn't be the first time if it isn't." He looked to the two women and raised an eyebrow. "Well? Come on."

"Doctor.." Maddie started. "Who are you? Really." He was slightly taken aback by the question. "Pardon?" Was his simple response. The woman stepped forward, taking a deep breath. "I mean, what is it that you do?" The Doctor mused over the question, looking between Maddie and Emily. "Well.. i travel." He said sheepishly, patting the TARDIS door affectionately. "The TARDIS, she can go anywhere. All of time and space for me to see."

"Alone?" Emily interrupted. "Doesn't that get, well.. lonely?"

The Doctor looked at Emily, trying his hardest to ignore the lump in his throat. "..No. I usually have friends with me, but i'm currently.." He trailed off for a few moments, unsure of how to continue. He pretended to clear his throat, desperately trying to change the subject.

"It's rather late isn't it?" The Doctor remarked. "You two should be heading back."

Maddie snickered. "And what?" She asked sarcastically. "Pretend we didn't just save the world and see another planet?" The Doctor shrugged. "That's what i do."

She shook her head in disbelief, how could she forget tonight? Maddie looked back, seeing the apartment building and an expectant Emily, then back at The Doctor. "I guess, this is goodbye then." She said with a hint of sadness.

It was odd, her life in the short span that he knew the man was nothing but a series of worrying and life threatening events. In all honesty, she should've been ecstatic that he was leaving now. But despite all that, she still felt sad to see him go. Maybe it was because she was tempted by that blue box and his ability to go anywhere, or maybe it was because this mysterious man just walked into her life and was leaving without another word.

Maybe, it was because she was still curious

The Doctor nodded. "Goodbye, Maddie, Emily." And with that he turned on his heel and strode back into the TARDIS.

There was a deafening silence, as Maddie watched the blue box, letting out a near inaudible gasp when she felt Emily's' hand entwined with her own. The blonde offered a small but genuine smile. To which the older women responded with her own smile.

Together, they watched as the blue box took off, watched as it faded out of existence.

And together, they watched as it abruptly stopped and stayed in place.

Before either of them could voice they're questions, the doors creaked and the familiar face of The Doctor poked out of them. Confused, Maddie asked the obvious question. "What are you-"

"Your right." The Doctor interrupted. "It does get lonely." A smile crept on his features. "Would you like to accompany me?" Maddie and Emily looked at each other, finding excited grins on both they're faces.

The Doctor grinned, the widest grin this face had made so far. He swung the doors open before running inside.

The two women, hand in hand, rushed towards the TARDIS. Newfound energy surging trough them. When they entered the ship, they found The Doctor fiddling with the controls. "Oh." The Doctor said to himself, remembering a very important thing. "You two should really get some rest. I think there's a bedroom here somewhere."

Maddie and Emily chuckled, walking up the staircase and beginning the search for the bedroom.

The Doctor smiled after them, clutching the quantum handbrake. "A ship that can travel anywhere and any-when." The man pulled down on the lever and began his journey anew.

"Lets see where the winds take us!"

-End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact- This is the only fanfic I've ever completed
> 
> This was my first Doctor Who fanfic, so i'm not sure how good a job i did. This was also the first story i actually completed before posting it.
> 
> I hope my version of The Doctor was entertaining and my companions we're likable. I have a few ideas running around for this particular Doctor so stick around.
> 
> Bye!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy the prologue. This whole story has already been written and i intend to post the whole thing in due time. Blame any delays on the fact that i'm not allowed to use my laptop on weekdays.
> 
> English is also not my first language, so apologies for that.


End file.
